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THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


1 


f 


Christ 


(Greeting  £ 

» —  k 


»  bells  are  softly  ringing 
On  the  joy-filled,  frosty  air; 
To  our  friends  they  bring  our  greetings: 
"Happy  Christmas!  Glad  New  Year!" 


our  wisnes, 
with  many  an  earnest  prayer, 
eg  the  Christ  Child  and  His 

care* 


[races, 


strew  your 


ser  to 


8t  tfje  feet  of  tlje  infant  Jegusi,  toe  lap  our  praper*  for 
pour  fjapptnesig.   jfflap  tfje  Jpolp  Cfjtlb  bleste  pou,  grant 
pour  besriresi,  anb  fjaue  pou  tn  J|tsi  keeping! 


1 


HE  IS  A  KING  THAT  PEARS  NOTHING;  THAT  KINGDOM  EVERY  ONE  GIVES  TO  HIMSELF 


2 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


BEYOND  THE  CAM 


SOUTH  of  Canada  lies  the  great  American  Re- 
public of  the  United  States.  The  teeming 
millions,  the  democratic  institutions,  the  un- 
paralleled wealth,  the  industrial  and  commercial 
achievements,  the  inventive  genius  and  progres- 
siveness  of  the  people  have  made  of  her  a  lead- 
ing country  in  our  modern  world.  The  unforti- 
fied and  unprotected  border  that  divides  the  two 
countries  is  a  standing  symbol  of  that  peace  and 
harmony  that  have  reigned  between  them  for 
well  over  a  century.  An  exchange  of  services 
has  continued  throughout  years  to  foster  friend- 
ly relations. 

The  Catholic  Church  within  the  borders  of 
the  United  States  has  also  witnessed  marvellous 
developments.  The  mustard  seed  planted  by  the 
French  and  Spanish  missionaries  has  grown  into 
a  mighty  oak,  spreading  its  branches  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  More  than  126  Bishops 
shepherd  a  flock  of  over  twenty  millions.  Yet 
the  Church  there,  as  in  Canada,  has  its  "Field 
at  Home."  Conditions  are  somewhat  similar  to 
those  that  prevail  in  our  own  land.  In  many  of 
the  Western  and  Southern  States  missionary  prob- 
lems still  confront  the  Church. 

At  all  times  Canada  has  sent  her  missionaries 
and  her  religious  communities  to  the  help  of  the 
ever-growing  and  expanding  Church  in  America. 
It  was  therefore  in  line  with  our  apostolic  tradi- 
tion that  on  invitation  from  Bishop  Muench  of 
Fargo,  North  Dakota,  the  Sisters  of  Service  an- 
swered the  call  unhesitatingly  and  crossed  the 
border  to  found  their  first  mission  in  the  United 
States.  After  due  consideration  and  examination, 
His  Excellency  of  Fargo  found  that  the  ideals, 
outlook  and  scope  of  our  humble  community  were 
best  suited  to  the  needs  of  his  "prairie  diocese," 
so  similar  to  those  of  the  Canadian  dioceses  con- 
tiguous to  it,  where  already  our  Sisters  were  at 
work. 

Some  may  ask  why  should  the  Sisters  of  Ser- 
vice go  to  the  United  States  when  the  need  is 
still  so  great  in  our  own  country.  Our  answer  is 
that  we  always  help  "ourselves"  better  by  help- 
ing "others."  Moreover,  the  Church  of  God 
knows  no  boundary  line.  Founded  by  Christ  for 
the  salvation  of  all  souls,  she  is  "sent  to  teach 
all'  nations."  This  Catholicity  of  the  Church  is 
one  of  the  marks  of  her  divinity.  A  national 
Church  can  never  claim  to  be  the  Church  of 
Christ. 


With  the  progress  of  time  religious  orders 
have  given  to  their  work  this  divine  stamp  of 
Catholicity.  Wherever  souls  are  to  be  saved  and 
the  Church  helped  their  members  have  gone 
willingly  and  joyfully.  Although  necessarily  con- 
fined at  first  to  the  Country  that  witnessed  its 
birth  and  development,  a  religious  Community 
soon  reaches  out  beyond  national  frontiers.  This 
"Catholicity"  brings  to  an  Order  its  own  reward. 
To  its  members  come  a  greater  breadth  of  vision 
and  an  enhanced  spirit  of  generosity.  The  Com- 
munity that  refuses  to  venture  out  for  Christ 
and  His  Kingdom  will  soon  be  struck  with  ster- 
ility. "When  the  prophecy  shall  fail  the  people 
shall  be  scattered  abroad."    (Prov.  xxix.  18). 

Our  foundation  at  Fargo  is  the  nucleus  of  a 
future  American  Province  of  the  Sisters  of  Ser- 
vice. We  are  confident  that  vocations,  like  the 
green  shoots  of  a  promising  harvest,  will  soon 
spring  forth  from  those  great  prairie  lands. 
Many  good  Catholic  girls  yearn  to  be  of  service 
to  the  Church.  They  will  find  in  the  missionary 
work  of  the  S.O.S.  the  realization  of  their  youth- 
ful dreams.  Trained  in  the  traditions  and  spirit 
of  the  Institute  at  our  Mother  House  they  will 
return  to  their  country,  to  dot  the  land  with 
their  schools,  small  hospitals  and  catechetical 
centres.  As  their  numbers  grow,  they  will  even- 
tually form  a  Province  with  its  Novitiate  and 
autonomous  administration.  Yet  this  branch 
will  still  remain  attached  to  the  parent  tree  from 
which  it  has  received  life  and  guidance. 

The  21st  of  August,  the  day  on  which  three 
Sisters  of  Service  landed  in  Fargo,  will  stand 
out  as  an  historical  date  in  the  Annals  of  the 
Institute.  Their  arrival  opened  a  new  Chapter. 
We  are  confident  that  with  God's  grace  and  the 
blessing  of  our  Mother  of  Perpetual  Help  it  w  ill 
be  a  glorious  one. 


LOVE  IS  MOST  DIVINE  WHEN  IT  LOVES  ACCORDING  TO  NEED  AND  NOT  ACCORDING  TO  MERIT. 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


MAN  BORDER 


^tsl|op  of  (Sfargo,  JJortfy  Jakota 


aftw-— — — .  


i 


8 


Ways  in  Which  You  Can 
Work  for  the 


S  ALVATION 

Op 

Souls 

1.  Renew  your  subscription  to 
the  "Field  at  Home."  Every 
$1.00  helps. 

2.  Send  us  stamps  for  the  mail- 
ing of  religious  instruction  to 
poor  children  in  isolated  dis- 
tricts. 

3.  Collect  holy  pictures,  medals, 
rosaries,  prayer  books  and 
New  Testaments  for  distribu- 
tion among  our  Catholic  peo- 
ple in  the  Far  West. 

4.  Keep  a  sanctuary  light  burn- 
ing in  one  of  our  missions. 

5.  Donate  vestments,  altar  lin- 
ens, etc.,  to  one  of  our  mis- 
sion chapels. 

6.  Donate  linens,  or  hospital 
supplies  to  our  little  hospit- 
als in  the  West. 

7.  Provide  a  much-needed  dic- 
tionary for  the  Sisters  con- 
ducting our  religious  corres- 
pondence work  in  Eegina. 

8.  Adopt  a  Catholic  family  to 
whom  you  will  remail  Catho- 
lic literature.  In  this  way 
you  will  be  participating  in 
the  Apostolate  of  the  Press. 
Our  Sisters  in  Regina  will 
gladly  supply  names  and  ad- 
dresses of  families  who  will 
be  most  grateful  for  your  Ca- 
tholic magazines  and  papers 
after  you  have  read  them.  The 
address  is:  2220  Cameron 
St.,  Regina,  Sask. 


HE  WHO  CAN  BE  PENITENT  HAS  EVER  SOMETHING  LOFTY  IN  HIS  NATURE 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


Our  First  International  Venture 

Three  Sisters  of  Service  in  Fargo,  North  Dakota 

By  ONE  OF  THEM 


ON  August  20th  we  three  met  in  Winnipeg 
(not  for  the  first  time  of  course),  and  as 
we  faced  each  other,  strange  emotions  re- 
vealed themselves  on  the  faces  of  all  three.  An 
onlooker  might  wonder  just  what  emotions  were 
portrayed.  Sadness?  Joy?  Hope?  Despair?  Fear? 
Courage?  If  one  could  suggest  an  emotion  which 
included  all  these  at  the  same  time  the  onlooker's 
curiosity  might  be  satisfied,  for  on  the  morrow 
we  three  were  to  leave  for  Fargo  to  open  the 
first  S.O.S.  mission  in  the  United  States.  Hence 
the  conglomeration  of  emotions. 

The  eventful  morning  came  as  all  mornings 
do,  and  together  with  suitcases,  club  bags  and 
steamer  trunks,  containing  all  our  worldly  pos- 
sessions, we  piled  into  Father  M's  car  and  at 
9.30  a.m.  set  out  on  our  journey.  Each  of  the 
three  having  come  from  a  different  mission  in 
Canada  and  not  having  met  for  some  five  or  six 
years,  there  was  much  news  to  be  exchanged  and 
many  experiences  to  be  related.  The  morning 
was  beautiful,  and  forgetting  the  mission  that 
lay  ahead  we  lost  ourselves  in  memories  of  those 
that  lay  behind. 

Crossing  the  Border 

Suddenly  we  found  ourselves  at  the  border, 
seeking  entrance  to  the  United  States.  As  all 
had  been  previously  arranged,  there  was  no  diffi- 
culty there,  but  when  the  formalities  of  Immigra- 


■  ■ 
II 


Our  Sisters  in  Fargo 
Sister  O'Kane         Sister  Morrison       Sister  Wayland 


tion  had  been  attended  to  and  we  found  ourselves 
speeding  over  American  soil,  a  different  atmos- 
phere seemed  to  pervade.  From  the  back  seat, 
where  a  few  moments  previously  had  come  a 
cheerful  hum  of  conversation,  there  issued  not  a 
sound.  The  silence  must  have  been  rather  pro- 
longed, for  after  some  time  our  patient  chauffeur, 
Father  M.,  began  to  cast  furtive  glances  to  the 
back,  then  into  the  mirror  in  front,  feeling  no 
doubt  somewhat  like  a  kind-hearted  kidnapper. 
The  thoughts  that  passed  through  out  minds  in 
those  few  hours  have  never  been  discussed,  but 
by  the  time  we  reached  Grand  Forks,  lively  con- 
versation had  been  resumed,  and  all  traces  of 
worry  had  left  Father's  face. 

"Welcome!" 

We  stopped  for  dinner  at  Grand  Forks  and 
then  on  in  the  best  of  spirits,  till  Fargo  came  in 
sight  at  4,30  p.m.  Gradually  the  conversation 
subsided,  and  then  once  more  that  awful  silence 
— all  minds  this  time  meditating,  no  doubt,  on 
our  arrival,  our  presentation  to  His  Excellency 
the  Bishop,  and  what  we  should  say  and  how. 
Without  warning  our  car  suddenly  drew  up  be- 
side another,  out  of  which  sprang  a  figure  who 
came  eagerly  towards  us  with  outstretched  hand 
and  a  welcoming  fatherly  smile  that  set  all  our 
fears  at  rest.  It  was  His  Excellency  Bishop 
Muench — and  we  knew  we  were  "at  home"  in 
Fargo.  This  welcome  was  soon  to  be  re-echoed 
by  the  clergy,  the  Sisters  and  the  people  of  the 
diocese.  Fargo  expected  us  and  it  was  not  sur- 
prise but  only  a  friendly  interest  that  made  people 
stare  when  we  walked  down  Broadway  next 
morning.  One  little  girl  was  brave  enough  to 
venture  a  "Good  morning.  Sisters."  The  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  at  St.  John's  Hospital,  with  whom 
we  stayed  for  two  months,  spared  no  effort  to 
make  us  happy  and  comfortable. 

Catholic  Action  Meetings. 

During  the  month  of  September  we  attended  the 
Catholic  Action  Meetings  in  the  different  parts 
of  the  diocese  and  at  each  of  these  were  given 
the  privilege  of  speaking  of  our  Institute  and  its 
work.  At  all  of  these  meetings  we  were  edified 
at  the  way  in  which  the  people  responded  to  the 
appeal  of  their  Bishop  for  Catholic  Action.  At 


A  MAN  ISN'T  POOR  IF  HE  CAN  STILL  LAUGH 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


5 


Temporary  S.O.S.  Convent,  Fargo. 

Pembino  Pontifical  High  Mass  was  celebrated  at 
an  outdoor  shrine.  The  group  of  little  "angels" 
who  escorted  the  Bishop  to  and  from  the  altar 
get  in  the  midst  of  sheaves  of  wheat,  is  a  scene 
we  shall  not  soon  forget.  At  Jamestown  the  city 
was  full  of  young  boys  and  girls,  members  of  the 
C.Y.O.,  eager  to  show  that  they  were  doing  their 
part  to  further  Catholic  Action. 

At  New  Rockford  days  of  labour  resulted  in 
an  exquisite  altar  built  in  the  city  park.  Then 
the  morning  of  the  Great  Day  brought  rain.  But 
the  age  of  miracles  has  not  yet  passed.  With  a 
fervent  prayer  on  every  lip,  the  preparations  were 
continued,  and  the  crowd  assembled.  By  the  time 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  was  begun,  the  sky  had  clear- 
ed, the  sun  shone  forth  and  the  day  was  a  won- 
derful success. 

At  Karlsruhe  neither  the  church  nor  the  hall 
was  large  enough  to  hold  the  number  of  people 
gathered  to  participate  in  the  celebration.  At 
Devil's  Lake  a  civic  holiday  was  proclaimed  and 
non-Catholics  as  well  as  Catholics  joined  in  the 
celebration.  Here  Pontifical  High  Mass  was 
offered  in  the  Memorial  Building  and  was  attend- 
ed by  all  the  civic  officials.  The  Boys'  Band  was 
in  attendance  and  marched  in  the  procession. 
Last,  but  not  least,  was  our  day  at  Hankinson. 
The  crowds  there,  as  everywhere,  were  eager  to 
do  their  share  in  the  work  of  Catholic  Action. 

At  one  of  these  meetings  I  was  touched  par- 
ticularly by  the  kindness  and  generosity  of  a 
dear  old  lady  who,  while  moving  down  the  church 
aisle  beside  us,  reached  over  and  pressed  some 
coins  into  my  hand.  When  I  looked  at  the  coins 
I  found  they  were  Canadian.  I  wondered  if  she 
knew,  or  if  it  were  only  a  coincidence. 

Jubilee  Celebrations 

October  third  was  the  grandest  day  of  all. 
On  that  day  the  Jubilee  celebrations  of  the 


Diocese  of  Fargo  were  brought  to  a  close  by  a 
Solemn  Pontifical  High  Mass,  offered  in  St. 
Mary's  Cathedral  by  His  Excellency  Bishop 
Muench.  Archbishops  and  Bishops  from  the 
United  States  and  Canada  were  present.  To  des- 
cribe that  day  would  be  far  too  great  a  task  for 
such  as  we,  but  we  feel  that  we  were  fortunate 
to  have  arrived  here  at  such  a  time  and  privileged 
indeed  to  take  part  in  the  celebration.  Shortly 
after  the  close  of  the  Jubilee,  we  returned  to 
Devil's  Lake — this  time  to  attend  a  Social  Ser- 
vice Conference. 

First  Mass  in  Our  New  Convent  Chapel 

At  the  close  of  the  series  of  Conferences  we 
were  confronted  with,  to  us,  the  most  important 
task  of  all — moving  into  our  own  home.  Up  to 
this  time  we  had  been  taken  care  of  by  the  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Joseph,  but  now  we  were  to  begin 
housekeeping.  When  the  house  chosen  for  our 
winter  residence  was  declared  vacant  we  lost  no 
time  moving  in.  The  furniture  was  arranged  and 
re-arranged.  We  chose  a  room — the  best  room, — 
for  the  Master.  A  temporary  altar  has  been  set 
up  there  and  on  October  28th,  the  Feast  of  the 
Apostles  Sts.  Simon  and  Jude,  the  first  Mass  in 
our  little  chapel  was  celebrated  by  His  Excel- 
lency Bishop  Muench.  Very  Reverend  Monsignor 
Dworchak  assisted  His  Excellency,  while  Right 
Reverend  Monsignor  Ryan  and  Very  Reverend 
Father  Mulloy  were  also  present.  And  now  the 
Master  is  with  us  —  always.  Our  work  takes 
,us  out  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  but  we 
never  return  to  an  empty  house.  At  home, 
awaiting  us,  is  our  Eucharistic  Lord,  keeping 
watch  over  the  first  little  S.O.S.  American  mission, 
and  under  His  guidance  and  watchful  care  we 
know  that  all  will  be  well. 


S.O.S.  Convent  Chapel,  Fargo 
WORRY  IS  INTEREST  PAID  ON  TROUBLE  BEFORE  IT  BECOMES  DUE 


6 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


NEW  HORIZONS 

S.O.S.  in  Bergfield,  Saskatchewan 


THERE  is  a  peculiar  fascination  about  every- 
thing that  is  just  at  the  dawn  of  life.  When 
it  is  a  matter  of  a  new  field  of  labour  for 
souls,  something  of  a  divine  nature  is  added  and 
the  seal  of  love  and  grandeur  set  upon  it.  It  is 
this  thought  that  cheers  the  hearts  and  eases  the 
burden  of  missionary  pioneers. 

One  does  not  need  to  travel  to  China  or  India 
to  find  true  missionary  lands.  In  our  own  fair 
province  of  Saskatchewan  there  are  vast  stretches 
of  country  where  souls  are  waiting  for  the  "seed 
time"  of  the  knowledge  of  their  holy  Faith,  so 
long  neglected  and  forgotten. 

The  South  is  a  marked  contrast  to  the  mono- 
tonous flat  prairie  of  the  rest  of  Saskatchewan. 
Driving  o'er  hill  and  dale,  through  what  seems 
to  be  a  lonely  and  uninhabited  country,  one  is 
agreeably  surprised  to  see,  peeping  over  the 
shoulder  of  every  next  hill,  a  modest  farm  home. 
These  homes  constitute  the  settlement  of  Berg- 
field. Here  in  this  little  farming  locality,  hidden 
away  among  the  "coulees"  of  the  Southland,  the 
Sisters  of  Service  have  come  to  train  and  mould, 
through  the  medium  of  the  rural  school,  the 
pliant  souls  of  the  children  who  are  the  hope 
of  the  Church  for  the  future. 

Bergfield,  one  of  the  oldest  settlements  of  the 
South,  lies  twelve  miles  from  the  Montana  bor- 
der. In  bygone  days  it  was  a  vast  ranching 
country,  but  now  little  remains  of  those  adven- 
turous times  when  horsemen  rode  the  hills  and 
lawless  "rustlers"  drove  large  herds  of  cattle 
across  the  border  line. 

The  Sisters'  dwelling  is  a  two-room  cottage, 
perched  conspicuously  on  the  peek  of  a  hill,  de- 


void of  protection  from  the  elements  and  giving 
an  unobstructed  view  of  the  countryside.  The 
conveniences  of  modern  life  are  not  to  be  found 
in  Bergfield,  and  each  season  brings  its  own  spe- 
cial blessings  and  drawbacks. 

The  winter  nights,  so  still  and  beautiful,  are 
a  joy  to  the  heart.  High  in  the  heavens,  clusters 
of  twinkling  stars  look  down,  while  the  Northern 
Lights  swish  in  colourful  panorama  across  the 
sky.  The  moan  of  the  wind  and  the  weird  howl 
of  the  coyotes  sometimes  break  the  silence  and 
send  a  shiver  down  the  spine,  until  one  becomes 
accustomed  to  these  sounds  of  the  night. 

How  welcome  the  fresh  Spring  thaws  and 
rains !  What  an  indescribable  pleasure  to  listen 
to  the  music  of  rippling  water  along  the  coulees 
and  the  glad  sweet  song  of  the  birds !  The  one 
snag  is  having  no  tank  to  hold  this  precious 
water,  the  lack  of  which  is  such  a  drawback  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  year. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  "Sisters,  aren't 
you  lonely?"  What  missionary  Sister  could  be 
lonely  when  there  is  so  much  work  to  be  done 
for  the  Lord?  Apart  from  school  and  home 
duties,  religious  instruction  and  choir  work  at 
the  different  missions,  visiting  families  and  dis- 
tributing Catholic  literature,  leave  little  time  for 
even  thinking  of  loneliness. 

Our  one  "big  asset"  and  our  one  "big  head- 
ache" is  the  antique  Ford  which  takes  us  on  our 
missionary  travels.  Meeting  us  on  the  road,  push- 
ing and  breathless,  the  passer-by  would  sometimes 
wonder  if  we  are  taking  the  car  instead  of  the 
car  taking  us.  The  rough  roads  are  taking  its 
toll  on  the  old  frame  of  the  car  and  the  marvel 


OUR  STRENGTH  OFTEN  INCREASES  IN  PROPORTION  TO  THE  OBSTACLES  IMPOSED  ON  IT 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


7 


is  how  it  hangs  together  until  we  reach  our  var- 
ious destinations. 

The  happy  influence  of  the  Sister  in  the 
school  room  is  noticeable  in  the  children's  con- 
duct, their  increasing  love  and  better  understand- 
ing of  Holy  Mass  and  their  frequent  reception  of 
the  Sacraments. 

Mass  is  offered  in  the  school  at  Bergfield  once 
a  month,  as  the  mission  chapel  is  six  miles  dis- 
tant at  Diamond  Crossing.  During  Mass  the 
children  sing  without  any  musical  accompaniment. 
Confessions  are  heard  behind  the  stove  and  it  is 
quite  a  task  to  get  the  little  ones  who  have  made 
their  First  Communion  to  get  their  voices  tuned 
to  the  right  whisper-pitch,  lest  their  confessions 
be  made  to  the  waiting  congregation. 

During  the  year  four  boys  were  taught  to 
serve  Mass  and  their  first  appearance  in  public, 
"dressed  up"  in  cassock  and  surplice,  was  an 
outstanding  day  in  their  lives  and  not  without  a 
touch  of  humour.  The  parish  priest  had  received 
a  few  discarded  cassocks  and  as  soon  as  the  boys 
were  able  to  serve  Mass  the  fond  Mothers  took 
the  cassocks  home  and  transformed  them  into  the 
shape  and  size  of  the  privileged  one.  Before 
Mass  all  the  women-folk  of  the  families  concern- 
ed adjourned  to  the  sacristy  (at  least  the  space 
behind  the  altar)  to  dress  the  pride  and  joy  of 
the  family  for  the  great  event ;  this  important 
task  was  not  being  left  to  the  uncertain  taste 
of  a  boy.  The  boys  felt  awkward  and  shy  facing 
the  congregation  and  had  to  screw  their  courage 
up  to  "sticking-point"  to  face  the  mischievous 
grins  of  their  pals  in  the  front  bench. 

At  Diamond  Crossing  the  church  was  former- 
ly the  barracks  of  the  R.C.M.P.,  replacing  the 
church  which  was  burned  in  1922  and  never  re- 
built. High  Mass  is  sung  here  twice  a  month. 
Before  Mass,  lessons  in  religion  are  given  to  the 
children  of  the  parish,  and  many  of  the  parents 
take  advantage  of  these  classes  to  learn  more 
about  their  Holy  Faith.  Catholic  papers  and 
magazines  are  distributed  to  the  families  and 
gratefully  received.  Seven  hundred  and  fifty 
papers  and  magazines  were  given  out  in  the 
Bergfield  district  during  the  school  year ;  also 
many  articles  of  clothing. 

Fourteen  miles  from  Bergfield  is  the  town  of 
Minton.  At  least  that  is  where  the  railway  sta- 
tion, post  office  and  elevators  are — three  things 
necessary  to  make  a  Western  Town.  In  the  early 
days  the  Bergfield  settlers  travelled  to  Montana 
by  wagon  to  sell  their  farm  produce,  but  with 
the  coming  of  the  highway,  automobile,  and  cus- 
toms restrictions,  those  leisurely  wagon  rides  to 
the  Border  are  over.  Until  this  Fall,  there  being 
no  church  in  Minton,  Mass  was  said  in  the  dance 
hall  in  summer  and  the  pool  room  in  winter.  Re- 
ligious instruction  and  choir  practice  precede 
Mass.    Of  course  all  depends  on  the  punctuality 


Desk  Cleaning  Day  at  Bergfield  School 


of  the  congregation,  so  it  is  not  an  unusual  thing 
for  the  priest  to  send  a  boy  to  ring  a  bell  through 
the  town  to  awake  the  Catholics  from  their 
slumbers. 

Once  a  month  Lake  Alma,  29  miles  from 
Bergfield,  is  visited.  The  young  people  here 
have  taken  advantage  of  the  religious  instruc- 
tion and  choir  work  conducted  by  the  Sisters, 
and  at  Easter  time  they  were  able  to  sing  the 
first  Migh  Mass  in  the  history  of  their  little 
church.  The  paschal  candle  being  something 
different  in  the  line  of  candles,  the  altar  boy  who 
in  his  unsophisticated  life  had  never  known  of 
any  extinguisher  other  than  his  own  breath,  was 
in  a  state  of  exhaustion  "blowing  up"  at  the  tall 
candle,  when  his  bigger  brother  came  to  the 
rescue. 

On  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception 
the  Sisters  invited  the  Mothers  of  the  school 
children  to  come  together  for  a  social  evening  at 
the  teacher's  cottage.  As  the  Sisters  possessed 
only  two  collapsible  chairs  and  two  cups  and 
saucers,  considerable  borrowing  had  to  be  done. 
A  lovely  chocolate  cake  was  baked  laboriously 
(on  account  of  the  poor  service  of  the  stove), 
put  in  a  pail,  covered  with  a  piece  of  wood,  and 
placed  outside.  During  the  course  of  the  even- 
ing one  of  the  topics  of  conversation  was  mice 
and  their  destructive  ways — examples  and  de- 
tailed accounts  being  given.  Somehow  the  Sis- 
ters had  a'  feeling  that  perhaps  all  was  not  well 
with  the  precious  cake  outside,  so  they  excused 
themselves  from  the  company  to  have  a  look. 
The  pale  moonlight  revealed  that  their  forebod- 
ings were  not  in  vain,  for  the  cake  had  been  de- 
voured to  a  morsel  by  a  sweet-toothed  canine. 
The  evening  was  a  great  success  because  all  laugh- 
ed loud  and  long  and  the  story  was  known  for 
miles  around  the  next  morning.  The  mothers 
still  wonder  what  the  cake  was  like  and  the 
lucky  dog  still  lives. 

It  has  been  said  by  someone :  "Blessed  is  he 
that  expecteth  nothing,  for  he  shall  be  gloriously 
(Continued  on  page  16) 


SHAME  IS  NOT  THE  LOSS  OF  OTHER  MEN'S  ESTEEM;  IT  IS  THE  LOSS  OF  OUR  OWN 


8 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  IN  ALBERTA 


First  Mass  in  New  Church 

AS  the  first  streaks  of  dawn  were  widening 
on  July  3rd,  we  said  "Au  revoir"  to  the 
Sisters  remaining  at  home  and  left  by  car 
for  our  first  week  of  teaching.  After  a  thirty- 
mile  drive  south  over  fairly  good  roads,  we  reach- 
ed the  little  church  where  Father  D.  was  to  say 
the  first  Mass.  Until  recently  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
was  offered  in  a  pool  room  and  the  congregation 
rarely  numbered  twenty.  In  the  spring  of  1938 
the  present  little  wooden  building — a  former 
school  house — was  obtained.  Since  that  time  the 
parishioners  have  done  all  in  their  power  to  make 
their  church  resemble  those  in  the  old  country. 
An  altar,  a  tabernacle,  a  confessional  and  suffi- 
cient benches  to  seat  sixty  have  been  made.  The 
people  are  justly  proud  of  their  clmrch  and  are 
eager  to  do  all  they  can  to  improve  it. 

Long  before  Mass  families  began  arriving  by 
means  of  democrats,  wagons  and  cars.  Acquaint- 
ances were  renewed  and  lengthy  discussions 
about  the  conditions  of  the  crops  and  gardens 
followed.  At  the  appointed  time  Mass  began 
and  we  were  delighted  to  see  the  church  crowded. 
What  a  difference  when  compared  with  the  first 
time  we  were  at  Mass  in  this  district. 

Eager  for  Instruction 

Afterwards,  my  companion  was  installed  at 
her  headquarters  for  that  week,  and  I  continued 
on  my  way.  After  a  ten  mile  drive,  I  arrived 
at  the  farmhouse  where  Father  was  to  say  his 
second  Mass.  A  buffet  served  as  an  altar,  and 
all  available  chairs,  sofas,  benches,  etc.,  were  ar- 
ranged in  front  of  the  altar. 

After  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  during  which  a 
number  received  Holy  Communion  despite  the 
late  hour,  I  met  my  pupils.  It  was  decided  that 
classes  would  begin  at  9  a.m.  on  the  morrow.  I 
was  then  escorted  to  my  room  on  the  second 
floor  of  the  farmhouse  which  was  to  be  my  home 
for  the  coming  week.  A  large  window  on  the 
east  side  afforded  a  good  view  of  the  extensive 
ranch  and  through  this  window  dozens  of  little 
gophers  could  be  seen  playing  bright  and  early 
every  morning. 

On  Monday  morning,  eager-faced  little  ones 
arrived,  some  on  horse-back,  others  in  cars, 
democrats,  or  on  foot.  One  little  lad,  whose 
mother  had  died  three  years  before,  walked  eight 
miles  daily  to  attend  the  classes.  Each  morn- 
ing, before  beginning  his  long  trek,  he  milked  the 
cows  and  prepared  his  own  lunch. 

One  morning  a  horse  cantered  up  to  the  door 
with  three  children  on  its  back.    It  seems  the 


The  "Our  Father" 


family  democrat  had  been  loaned  for  the  day. 
The  three  little  ones  who  were  coming  for  in- 
struction would  not  think  of  losing  a  day,  so 
they  all  climbed  on  the  one  available  horse  and 
arrived  in  good  time. 

Classes  began  at  9  a.m.  and  ended  at  4  p.m. 
with  an  hour  for  lunch  and  two  fifteen-minute 
recesses. 

On  the  last  day  a  picnic  was  held  and  some 
little  prizes  and  holy  cards  were  distributed. 

A  Gift  of  Chickens 

Among  the  visitors  I  received  during  the 
week  there  was  a  couple  who  arrived  one  evening, 
holding  two  live  chickens  by  the  legs.  These 
they  presented  to  me,  in  token  of  their  apprecia- 
tion of  the  Avork  of  the  Sisters.  The  day  I  left 
for  home  two  boys  killed  and  plucked  the  chick- 
ens for  me  and — because  there  was  a  lack  of  other 
wrapping  material — put  them  in  a  flour  sack. 
On  my  way  to  the  station  where  I  was  to  meet 
Sister,  I  tucked  the  flour  sack  under  my  arm  to 
make  it  as  inconspicuous  as  possible. 

Help  Needed 

At  the  Church  where  Sister  had  been  teach- 
ing, a  class  of  52  arrived  on  Monday  morning, 
and  twelve  adults  desired  instruction  in  the  even- 
ing. Because  of  the  difference  in  the  amount 
of  previous  religious  instruction,  and  because  of 
the  great  number  of  little  ones,  it  was  necessary 
to  send  for  another  Sister  to  help  with  the  teach- 
ing. Two  classes  were  formed  and  one  Sister 
taught  on  either  side  of  the  church.  The  Sis- 
ters hoped  that  the  right  class  was  listening  to 
the  right  teacher  at  the  right  time. 


ANY  ONE  CAN  PLANT  RADISHES;  IT  TAKES  COURAGE  TO  PLANT  ACORNS  AND  WAIT  FOR  THE  OAKS 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


9 


About  25  children,  from  seven  to  seventeen 
years  of  age,  made  their  First  Communion  two 
weeks  after  we  left.  The  bishop  administered 
the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  on  July  27th. 
Some  adults  were  confirmed,  among  them  a  man 
of  forty. 

Bi-Lingual  Classes 

Sunday,  July  9th,  we  Avere  on  the  way  to  M. 
feeling  happy  at  the  prospect  of  another  week 
with  God's  little  ones,  when  suddenly  our  hap- 
piness was  turned  to  dismay.  Father  F.,  who  was 
acting  as  chauffeur,  informed  us  we  would  have 
about  eighty  children  to  instruct,  divided  into 
two  classes — one  English  and  one  French — and 
here  we  were  with  a  plentiful  supply  of  books, 
catechisms,  etc.,  all  in  English,  with  not  a  shadow 
of  a  French  catechism.  Nevertheless  we  had 
confidence  that  God  would  come  to  our  aid,  and 
we  were  not  disappointed.  Father  discovered 
three  or  four  French  catechisms  and  on  Monday 
morning,  armed  with  these  and  our  supply  of 
English  material,  we  proceeded  bravely  to  the 
attack. 

Father  said  Mass  every  morning  at  9  o'clock. 
At  8.30  most  of  the  children  had  assembled  and 
were  plajing  baseball ;  every  minute  that  was  not 
spent  in  class  was  devoted  to  this  favourite  sport. 

We  alternated  the  classes  between  the  church 
and  basement.  On  account  of  the  extreme  heat, 
the  day  in  the  basement  was  eagerly  anticipated. 

Several  of  the  boys  were  taught  to  serve 
Mass.  The  attendance  could  not  have  been  better. 
Saturday  Father  had  a  picnic  for  them;  ice 
cream  and  candy  disappeared  as  if  by  magic. 
Sunday  morning  we  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
seventeen  of  the  little  ones  receive  Our  Lord  into 
their  hearts  for  the  first  time. 

On  the  Road 

After  one  week  at  home  we  set  out  again 
for  B.  We  started  off  on  the  bus,  but  at  Vegre- 
ville  the  bus  developed  engine  trouble.  We  were 
told  we  could  either  spend  the  night  in  the  hotel 
(the  Company  would  pay  for  our  room)  or  re- 
turn to  Edmonton  on  the  evening  bus.  Neither 
alternative  appealed  to  us,  so  we  telephoned  the 
pastor  at  B.  and  asked  him  to  come  for  us.  He 
arrived  at  1.30  and  after  renewing  acquaintance 
(I  had  known  him  in  Quebec)  and  introducing 
my  companion,  we  were  invited  to  get  into  his 
ancient  Ford. 

As  Father  opened  the  car  door,  we  were  con- 
fronted by  a  small-sized  trunk  placidly  lying  full 
length  across  the  floor  of  the  conveyance.  We 
gazed  at  it,  then  at  Father,  who  mildly  informed 
us  that  it  was  only  his  tool  chest  which  would 
probably  prove  indispensable  before  we  traversed 
many  miles.  With  all  the  religious  dignity  we 
could  muster,  we  proceeded  to  scramble  over  the 


impediment  and  soon  found  ourselves  fitted  into 
the  back  seat ;  our  bags  being  placed  in  front 
beside  Father.  At  each  bump  in  the  road  we 
would  hit  the  ceiling  and  our  bags  fall  over  on 
Father,  who  took  all  this  as  the  natural  course 
of  events. 

We  soon  learned  that  our  call  had  torn  him 
away  from  work  on  an  office  which  he  was 
adding  to  his  rectory.  He  is  building  it  out  of 
old  lumber  which  had  been  given  to  him  and  at 
the  particular  moment  our  phone  call  reached 
him  he  was  busy  extracting  rusty  nails  from  his 
precious  donation. 

The  trip  to  B.,  between  jolts,  was  spent  in 
reminiscing.  B.  itself  is  an  ideal  spot,  situated 
on  the  banks  of  the  Saskatchewan  river.  The 
church  and  rectory,  neat  little  stucco  buildings, 
stand  out  in  relief  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  over- 
looking the  river.  It  is  a  beautiful  spot  and  wild 
flowers  abound. 

Arrival 

We  came  to  an  abrupt  stop  beside  the  rec- 
tory. Gabrielle,  the  housekeeper,  prepared  tea 
for  us.  We  gratefully  accepted  this  hospitable 
attention,  as  it  was  now  3  p.m.  and  our  breakfast 
(taken  at  6.30)  was  little  more  than  a  memory. 

After  tea,  we  were  introduced  to  the  cats — 
"Ti  Nous"  and  "Tit  Nounne."  Then  we  were 
shown  the  church  and  rectory  and  made  a  tour  of 
the  grounds.  The  thirty-five  chickens  were  par- 
ticularly friendly  and  we  visited  the  bee-hive 
and  watched  the  bees  buzzing  around. 

A  Dollar  A  Head 

On  Monday  at  9  a.m.  the  religious  vacation 
school  was  opened  with  Holy  Mass.  There  were 
about  twenty-five  children  present.  Three  or 
four  families  were  missing.  We  learned  why 
later  on.  It  seems  a  rumour  had  been  circulated 
that  we  were  charging  "a  dollar  a  head"  for  the 
teaching.    Father  soon  made  it  clear  to  every 


MANY  THERE  ARE  WHO  COULDN'T  GIVE  LESS 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


First  Communicants 


one  that  this  was  not  the  case.  The  next  day 
our  class  had  increased  to  forty. 

Sing,  Pray,  Work  and  Play — Together 

The  children  were  divided  into  French  and 
English  language  classes.  Fortunately  for  us  the 
French  were  almost  all  First  Communicants  and 
the  English  all  in  the  Confirmation  class.  They 
knew  very  little  about  their  faith  and  were  keen- 
ly interested  in  everything  we  taught.  Besides 
the  actual  lessons  in  religion,  we  taught  some  of 
the  boys  how  to  answer  Mass  and  the  others  how 
to  sing.  At  recess  we  showed  them  how  to  play 
together — a  thing  they  didn't  seem  to  know  how 
to  do.  A  baseball  team  was  organized  for  the 
bigger  children  and  simple  little  games  were 
played  with  the  tiny  ones. 

The  children  sang  hymns  during  Mass  every 
day  except  Thursday. 

Singing  the  Requiem 

A  Requiem  Mass  was  to  be  sung  on  Thursday. 
The  choir  of  the  parish,  M.  Gareau,  came  at  7.30 
a.m.  instead  of  9  a.m.  He  could  not  return  at 
the  required  time  so  while  we  were  having  our 
breakfast  Father  asked  us  to  sing  the  Requiem. 
We  looked  blank  and  then  tried  to  persuade 
Father  that  we  couldn't,  but  he  wouldn't  let 
himself  be  persuaded  and  at  9  o'clock  we  climbed 
the  choir  stairs  and  began  to  exercise  our  vocal 
chords.  Although  we  did  a  bit  of  singing  "in 
the  cracks"  we  managed  to  get  through. 

Euclid's  First  Communion 

The  second  week  passed  smoothly.  On  Satur- 
day morning  all  the  children  went  to  Confession. 
One  little  boy  was  absent.  He  was  one  of  four 
in  the  same  family  who  walked  twelve  miles  faith- 
fully every  day  for  instruction.    This  little  lad 


had  very  sore  feet  as  a  result  of  walking  in  ill- 
fitting  shoes.  The  family  was  desperately  poor 
and  most  of  the  time  the  children  went  bare- 
foot. We  were  most  anxious  that  little  Euclid 
should  make  his  First  Communion  because  it  might 
be  his  last  chance,  as  the  parents  have  lost  any 
faith  they  may  once  have  had. 

On  Sunday  morning  Mass  was  at  9  a.m.  The 
children  occupied  the  front  seats.  They  sang  in 
both  French  and  English  and  recited  prayers  in 
preparation  and  thanksgiving  for  Holy  Com- 
munion. 

Little  Euclid  arrived  late  for  the  ceremony. 
However,  after  Mass  Father  called  him  up  to  the 
front  of  the  church,  took  him  to  the  sacristy  and 
heard  his  Confession,  after  which  he  led  him  by 
the  hand  to  the  foot  of  the  altar  and  gave  him  his 
First  Holy  Communion. 

A  touching  little  ceremony  followed  when 
the  children  consecrated  themselves  to  their 
Heavenly  Mother  and  were  enrolled  in  the 
scapular,  after  which  the  Te  Deum  was  sung. 

The  large  number  of  communicants  on  that 
morning  deserves  special  mention.  Father  said 
it  was  the  first  time  that  he  had  ever  emptied  a 
ciborium  on  one  day. 

Tanny's  Baptism 

G.  was  our  last  teaching  centre  this  year.  On 
a  bright  sunshiny  morning  we  drove  out  to  the 
little  church,  Avhich  stands  outside  the  town  on 
the  crest  of  a  hill. 

After  lunch  we  went  to  our  homes  for  the 
next  week.  We  were  to  teach  twenty  miles  apart. 
Sister  D.  lived  four  miles  out  of  B.  at  a  farm- 
house, where  the  people  were  exceptionally  kind. 
Sister  taught  her  class  of  13  under  the  trees  in  a 
nearby  woods.  One  little  lad  was  only  four,  but 
he  was  bright  for  his  age.  On  the  last  day  of 
class,  Father  baptized  him.  It  was  an  impressive 
ceremony  and  very  instructive  for  the  children 
who  had  never  seen  a  baptism  before.  Little 
"Tanny"  made  all  the  responses  himself.  After 
it  was  all  over  he  declared  that  he  didn't  want 
to  be  baptized  again,  because  he  didn't  like  the 
salt.  Father  hopes  to  get  special  permission  for 
Tanny  to  make  his  First  Communion  soon. 

S.O.S. 


FEW  THERE  ARE  WHO  COULDN'T  GIVE  MORE 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


1 1 


MARRIED  IN  WHITE 

An  Immigration  Incident 


EVA  was  a  tall,  pretty    Creation    girl  of 
eighteen,  who  came  to  Canada  to  marry 
a  man  whom  she  had  never  seen  or  known, 
except  through  his  photograph. 

The  boat  docked  about  10  p.m.  When  the 
usual  hustle  and  bustle  of  landing  was  over,  I 
saw  the  young  girl  standing  alone — a  large  bale 
of  clothing  on  one  side  of  her,  a  wicker  basket 
on  the  other,  and  in  her  hands  a  small  yellow 
basket  to  be  used  as  an  overnight  case.  There 
was  a  look  of  disappointment  on  her  face.  I 
spoke  to  her  and  she  told  me  her  fiance  was  to 
have  met  her,  and  now  she  was  worried  lest  he 
might  have  changed  his  mind.  I  assured  her  all 
would  be  well,  and  that  the  young  man  would 
turn  up  shortly.  There  was  not  much  difficulty 
in  persuading  her  to  come  with  me  to  the  Club 
until  the  prospective  groom  put  in  an  appearance. 

The  Fiance  Arrives 

The  following  morning,  bright  and  early,  the 
man  arrived — breathless,  unshaven  and  without 
his  breakfast — just  off  the  train.  "Is  Eva  here?" 
he  enquired  eagerly  when  I  opened  the  door. 
"Yes,"  I  assured  him,  and  then  went  to  inform 
Eva.  Yellow  basket  in  hand,  down  she  came  to 
greet  her  fiance.  Before  I  had  any  chance  to 
make  introductions,  they  embraced  each  other  as 
if  they  were  old  friends.  Sensing  that  my  ser- 
vices were  no  longer  required,  I  was  about  to 
withdraw,  when  I  realized  the  newly-met  couple 
were  having  language  difficulties.  The  man  had 
been  in  Canada  about  ten  years  and  had  to  a 
great  extent  forgotten  his  mother  tongue,  so  the 
girl  could  not  understand  him  very  well.  I  ask- 
ed her  if  she  knew  what  he  was  saying.  "Not 
very  well,"  she  replied,  "I  understand  you  better." 
"Are  you  not  afraid  to  marry  a  man  you  do  not 
know  or  understand?"  I  asked  her.  "No,"  she 
replied,  "my  mother  knows  him."  After  the 
happy  meeting  the  young  man  had  to  go  away 
to  get  shaved,  brushed,  etc.  He  came  back  in  a 
couple  of  hours,  all  powdered  and  perfumed,  and 
looking  ten  years  younger. 

Shopping  for  the  Wedding 

As  it  is  the  custom  in  Europe  for  the  groom 
to  buy  the  wedding  outfit  for  the  bride,  I  was 
asked  to  go  shopping  with  them.  Off  we  went 
to  one  of  the  large  departmental  stores.  We 
looked  at  all  the  pretty  white  wedding  dresses, 


but  we  could  not  see  anything  at  a  reasonable 
price  in  a  white  wedding  dress.  Finally  we  de- 
cided on  a  nice  grey  dress,  with  hat  and  shoes 
to  match.  Eva  seemed  pleased,  but  kept  throw- 
ing envious  glances  at  the  white  dresses.  When 
the  shopping  was  completed  George  took  Eva  out 
to  supper. 

White  Dress  and  Veil 

The  folowing  day  arrangements  were  made 
with  their  priest  about  the  wedding  which  was 
to  take  place  the  next  morning.  George  instruct- 
ed the  priest  to  have  everything  "nice  and  good." 
Father  assured  them  everything  would  be  as  re- 
quested. And  yet  somehow  there  seemed  to  be 
a  sadness  about  the  bride.  She  kept  looking  at 
her  pretty  grey  dress,  admiring  it,  but  with  a 
look  of  disappointment  on  her  face.  At  last  she 
came  to  me  and  with  tears  in  her  eyes  asked  if  a 
white  veil  could  be  put  on  her  hat  or  dress.  I 
told  her  "No,"  but  asked  if  she  really  wanted  a 


The  Happy  Couple  on  the  Way  to  Church 


HIGH  AIMS  FORM  HIGH  CHARACTERS 


12 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


veil.  "I  would  just  love  one,"  she  replied.  I 
felt  something  must  be  done.  It  was  Friday  and 
the  wedding  to  take  place  on  Saturday  morning. 
When  George  called  I  told  him  Eva  would  be 
much  happier  if  she  could  be  dressed  in  white  for 
the  wedding.  Thinking  of  his  pocket  book,  he 
asked  how  much  it  would  cost.  "About  twenty- 
five  dollars,"  I  replied,  figuring  on  buying  every- 
thing as  cheaply  as  possible.  "Would  you  please 
come  with  us  to  the  store  again?"  And  of 
course  I  consented.  This  time  we  succeeded  in 
buying  the  whole  wedding  outfit,  including  the 
bride's  bouquet,  and  roses  for  the  buttonholes  of 
the  groom  and  best  man — all  for  twenty-three 
dollars. 

The  Wedding  Morn 

Eva  was  up  early  the  next  morning.  With 
her  long  brown  hair  twined  in  braids  about  her 
head,  she  looked  like  a  madonna.  Her  white 
dress  and  long  trailing  veil  were  beautiful.  She 
was  not  at  all  excited,  but  calm  and  collected, 
waiting  for  George.  Finally  he  arrived,  so  excited 
he  could  not  adjust  his  tie.  His  tie  was  arranged 
for  him  and  the  rose  placed  in  his  buttonhole. 
Then  the  final  touches  were  put  on  the  bride's 
bouquet.  As  they  stepped  into  the  taxi,  I 
breathed  a  prayer  for  them.  On  their  arrival  at 
the  church,  the  organ  was  playing  a  wedding 
march.  The  altar  was  nicely  decorated  with 
flowers,  and  everything  was  as  George  had  re- 
quested. After  the  ceremony,  breakfast  was  serv- 
ed at  the  home  of  the  best  man;  there  was  much 
music  and  dancing  afterwards. 

Before  leaving  for  their  home  in  far-off  British 
Columbia  they  expressed  their  grateful  apprecia- 
tion to  the  Sisters  for  the  kindly  asistance  given 
them  on  this  important  occasion.  Since  settling 
in  the  West  they  have  written  to  us  frequently, 
and  they  both  seem  very  happy  and  contented. 

S.O.S. 


Letters  Express  Gratitude 

WE  have  recently  received  from  Montreal 
copies  of  letters  written  by  Sudeten  re- 
fugees, now  settled  in  the  West,  to  our 
Sisters  who  befriended  them  on  their  arrival  in 
Canada.  These  letters  were,  of  course,  written  in 
German.  The  following  translations  will  be,  we 
know,  of  interest  to  our  readers : 
Dear  Sisters:  — 

Many  thanks  for  your  dear  letter  and  pictures. 
We  were  glad  to  receive  them  and  have  talked  about 
them  quite  often.  We  are  all  doing  very  well  and 
are,  thanks  to  God,  well,  and  hope  the  same  of  you. 

At  the  present  time  we  are  having  lots  of  work, 
as  we  have  67  acres  of  land  and  are  busy  harvesting. 
Except  the  great  heat  we  are  quite  at  home  in  this 
beautiful  country,  where  there  is  freedom  and  plenty 
of  everything  man  needs. 

Our  children  have  been  to  school,  but  are  on 
vacation  now. 

With  grateful  thanks  for  your  good  wishes  and 
letter,  we  remain, 


Dear  Sisters:  — 

I  don't  know  how  to  thank  you  for  the  great 
joy  you  gave  me  by  sending  me  clothes.  The  condi- 
tion they  were  in  told  me  that  only  loving  and  kind 
hands  got  them  ready.  My  daughter  loved  the  nice 
mirror  and  cards.  Maybe  it  will  interest  you  to  know 
that  I  wear  the  same  size  as  the  lady  who  sent  the 
clothes — they  fit  me  as  if  they  had  been  made  for 
me.  I  haven't  had  such  nice  clothes  since  we  lived 
in  better  circumstances  at  home.  The  dresses  I  re- 
ceived in  Montreal  are  still  in  use. 

Eight  days  ago  we  moved  from  the  grain  barn 
in  which  we  lived  since  our  arrival  here  to  a  log 
cabin  which  is  located  in  the  bush  and  was  built  by 
my  dear  husband  in  his  free  time.  The  only  furni- 
ture we  have  is  two-  beds,  a  table  and  chairs  but  in 
time  my  husband  will  make  more.  We  begin  to  feel 
quite  at  home  in  this  beautiful  country. 


Dear  Sisters:  — 

I  promised  to  write  you  and  now  after  a  long 
delay  I  am  doing  so.  We  arrived  safely  and  we  have 
been  on  our  own  farm  for  eight  weeks.  The  Sister 
who  helped  us  in  Montreal  and  who 
spoke  German  to  us  and  the  children 
gave  us  holy  pictures.  We  have  them 
still  and  are  proud  of  them.  I  won- 
der if  she  remembers  the  family  by 
the  name  of  Erletz. 

I  would  have  written  before  now, 
but  there  is  so  much  work — clearing 
the  farm,  repairing  the  house  and 
working  in  the  fields.  We  have  two 
cows,  two  horses,  chickens  and  pigs. 
We  like  it  very  much.  The  children, 
the  oldest  boy  and  girl,  are  going  to 
school.  They  have  to  go  far  and  have 
not  enough  warm  clothes  for  the 
Canadian  winter.  Could  you,  dear- 
sister,  help  us,  even  if  it  is  only  to 
send  some  warm  clothing  for  the 
children? 

If  God  will  keep  us  healthy  every- 
thing will  go  all  right.  I  will  close 
this  letter  with  best  regards  to  all 
the  sisters  from  my  husband  and  the 
children. 


Journey's  End.    Sudetens  Reach  the  West 
LET  US  WATCH  WELL  OUR  BEGINNINGS:  RESULTS  WILL  MANAGE  THEMSELVES 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


13 


CARIBOO  ADVENTURING 


(The  following  letter  was  sent  in  from  our 
Vancouver  Sisters  in  answer  to  an  urgent  appeal  to 
them  for  "Some  of  your  Cariboo  experiences.")  — 
Editor. 

Dear  Sister  Editor: — 

SO  you  want  a  few  notes  on  our  trip  to  the 
Cariboo  this  summer.  Well,  we  left  Van- 
couver the  first  Monday  in  July,  and  drove 
as  far  as  Chilliwack  for  Mass  and  Holy  Com- 
munion, but  as  someone  decided  to  be  married  at 
10  a.m.,  there  was  no  early  Mass.  Father  was 
kind  enough  to  give  us  Holy  Communion  and  in- 
vite us  to  breakfast.  Then  we  went  on  our  way 
up  through  that  winding  mountainous  country. 
It  was  my  first  trip  over  the  Cariboo  Highway, 
and  I  was  fearful  every  moment  that  we  would 
run  off  that  narrow  shelf  high  up  on  the  moun- 
tainside which  served  as  a  road.  When  we  reach- 
ed that  point  of  the  highway  which  looks  down 
over  Lytton,  we  sat  on  the  shady  side  of  the  car 
and  ate  our  lunch. 

We  made  Clinton  in  time  for  supper  and 
stayed  with  a  good  widow  and  her  daughter  who 
keep  open  house  for  priests  and  religious  in  tran- 
sit. At  this  centre  we  did  some  visiting  and 
gathered  the  little  ones  for  instruction.  Unfor- 
tunately, a  number  of  families  had  moved  away 
for  the  summer,  while  others  were  at  a  stampede 
which  was  on  at  Green  Lake,  but  we  did  all  we 
could  under  the  circumstances.  One  morning 
Father  C.  came  to  the  house  where  we  lived  to 
say  Mass,  and  we  were  pleasantly  surprised  to 
discover  that  Mary,  the  daughter,  had  turned  the 
front  room  into  a  very  presentable  little  chapel. 

From  Clinton  we  went  into  the  Big  Bar  dis- 
trict. It  is  a  desolate  country,  covered  with  short 
sage  brush,  with  no  grass  or  green  trees,  ex- 
cept along  the  banks  of  the  streams  which  flow 
through  it.  The  mountains  looked  high  and 
bare.  We  slept  in  the  car,  and  the  first  night  I 
watched  certain  large  dark  objects  on  the  side  of 
the  nearest  mountain  to  see  if  they  would  move. 
I  wondered  if  they  were  bears  or  mountain  sheep, 
or  just  rocks.  They  were  in  the  same  place  the 
next  morning,  so  we  decided  there  was  no  danger. 

The  little  log  school  house  was  open,  so 
we  taught  the  children  there.  The  families  were 
poor,  far  apart,  and  some  of  them  part  Indian, 
but  the  children  were  lovely.  The  priest  offered 
two  Masses  that  Sunday  in  the  hall,  one  at 
nine  o'clock  for  the  First  Communicants  and 
those  who  came  early,  and  one  at  eleven  for 
those  who  were  late.  Many  of  the  people  had 
very  far  to  travel.  Some  of  them  came  on  horse- 
back, others  rode  in  trucks  or  in  wagons.  The 
priest  picked  up  a  carload  of  those  who  were 


The  Little  Log  School  House 


walking  and  we  made  two  trips  to  get  children 
whose  fathers  were  away  at  the  stampede.  We 
saw  a  man  working  on  a  car.  He  pulled  out  half 
a  quilt,  sage  brush,  and  newspapers  from  a  front 
tire.  I  remarked  that  I  had  no  idea  that  such 
a  thing  could  be  done.  He  replied:  "Well,  Sis- 
ter, when  you  have  no  air,  you  got  to  find  a 
substitute." 

After  the  second  Mass  some  of  the  men  built 
a  fire  outside  and  made  coffee  in  a  five  gallon 
oil  can.  Then  the  benches  were  put  together  to 
form  a  table  and  the  women  unpacked  the  food. 
There  was  a  very  large  roast  from  which  every- 
one cut  what  he  wanted.  It  was  called  beef,  but 
methinks  it  was  not  the  tame  variety.  Every- 
body ate,  and  we  Avere  thankful  for  the  hot 
coffee. 

One  often  wonders  how  the  priests  endure  the 
many  hardships  encountered  in  this  part  of  the 
country.  We  know  of  one  morning  that  the 
missionary  drove  for  three  and  a  half  hours  over 
muddy  bush  roads,  heard  eighteen  to  twenty-five 
confessions,  sang  High  Mass,  preached  to  the 
settlers  gathered  for  the  occasion  in  a  little  log 
house  where  the  flies  were  thick  and  the  weather 
nearly  ninety  in  the  shade.  A  fried  egg  breakfast 
followed,  then  more  miles,  punctuated  at  inter- 
vals by  a  flat  tire  or  fallen  trees  across  the 
road. 

We  couldn't  find  the  axe  before  leaving  home, 
so  we  started  out  praying  that  we  wouldn't  need 
one.  We  didn't,  but  to  reach  one  place  where 
we  were  to  teach,  it  was  necessary  "to  pass  through 
about  three  miles  of  heavy  timber.  A  very  strong 
wind  arose  the  day  before  we  were  to  go  through 
this  timber  forest.  The  priest,  who  took  that 
road  in  his  car  the  same  day,  was  held  up  by 
four  large  trees,  about  two  feet  in  diameter, 
which  were  lying  across  the  path  and  completely 


NEVER  FEAR  TO  EXCEED  EITHER  IN  POLITENESS  OR  HUMILITY 


14 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


blocking  progress.  He  had  to  go  to  a  nearby 
rancherie  for  help  and  a  cross-cut  saw.  We  drove 
along  that  same  road  the  next  day — and  felt  our 
prayers  had  been  answered. 

In  some  places  both  sisters  worked  together, 
in  other  places  we  separated,  one  remaining  in 
the  town  and  the  other  going  out  into  the  coun- 
try. The  children  from  the  outlying  points  were 
brought  into  the  city  for  Mass  and  First  Holy 
Communion.  That  is  how  we  managed  at  Wil- 
liam's Lake. 

At  Springhouse  we  taught  in  the  new  church 
and  lived  in  the  vacant  house  of  a  young  couple 
who  were  away  for  the  summer.  We  had  Mass 
twice  at  this  church.  The  two  Redemptorist 
Fathers  came  for  the  First  Communion  Mass. 
One  offered  the  Mass  and  the  other  explained 
every  part  of  it.  It  was  wonderful,  and  so  help- 
ful in  bringing  home  to  the  people  why  they  assist 
at  Mass. 

There  was  a  very  good  attendance  both  at 
Mass  and  at  the  classes.  The  First  Communion 
Mass  was  at  nine,  and  one  family  arrived  at 
eleven,  so  the  little  girl  missed  making  her  First 
Communion.  None  of  these  children  could  read 
or  write,  they  lived  far  away,  had  no  clock,  but 
the  father  promised  to  get  an  earlier  start  the 
next  time. 

We  grouped  the  children  at  different  points 
along  the  highway  and  taught  them.  Our  last 
week  was  spent  in  and  near  Quesnel.  One  of  the 
Fathers  drove  us  up  from  William's  Lake  in  our 
car.  I  stopped  off  at  a  place  called  Alexandria 
and  sister  went  on  to  Quesnel.  Father  gathered 
the  children  around  Quesnel  and  took  them  into 
the  class.  The  other  priest  came  up  from  Wil- 
liam's Lake  in  their  car,  collected  children  from 
Margarete  and  Castle  Rock  and  brought  them 
over  to  my  class.  Mothers,  babies  and  children 
of  all  ages  attended.  I  slept  in  a  tiny  house  by 
the  side  of  the  road  and  took  my  meals  with  a 
good  Quebec  French  family. 

These  people  told  how  they  had  hoped  and 
prayed  for  a  church.  The  old  man  pointed  out 
a  corner  on  his  land  which  he  considered  a 
good  site,  and  the  old  mother  said  she  would 
scrub  that  church  on  her  knees  in  gratitude  for 
having  it.  The  old  man  spoke  of  being  lonely  for 
the  music  of  a  High  Mass,  so  Sister  came  over 
from  Quesnel  Saturday  night  to  stay  with  me 
and  brought  the  folding  organ.  We  sang  and 
played  parts  of  the  Mass  and  old  familiar  hymns 
they  remembered  from  their  youth. 

Sunday  morning  found  us  with  our  things 
packed  and  on  our  way  back  along  the  highway 
to  pick  up  the  children  on  our  side  of  the  Fraser 
River  and  take  them  on  to  Quesnel  for  Mass  at 
nine  o'clock.  A  rancher  took  a  truck  load  from 
the  other  side  of  the  river.  Some  of  those  child- 
ren saw  a  church  for  the  first  time  that  day. 


Outdoor  Mass  in  the  Cariboo,  Father  Thomas 
Officiating 

After  the  Mass  in  Quesnel  church  every  one 
went  out  to  Baker's  Creek  for  eleven  o'clock 
High  Mass.  I  sent  you  a  picture  I  took  of  Father 
Thomas  offering  that  Mass.  Father  Thomas  has 
been  a  missionary  in  that  country  for  over  forty- 
five  years.  His  own  mission  crucifix  hung  on 
the  tree  above  the  altar.  The  other  Redemptor- 
ist Father  who  was  to  have  come,  was  unable  to 
attend  because  of  bruises  received  in  a  miracu- 
lous escape  from  death  when  his  car  was  pushed 
over  the  cliff  by  another  car. 

After  the  Mass  tables  were  arranged  and  a 
picnic  lunch  was  spread.  We  stayed  just  long 
enough  to  help  Father  with  the  races  after 
lunch  and  then  we  gathered  our  flock  and  started 
on  the  homeward  journey.  After  delivering  all 
the  little  ones  safely  home,  we  came  back,  picked 
up  our  luggage,  and  said  "good-bye"  to  the 
Cariboo. 

We  stayed  no  more  than  three  days  in  one 
place,  wasted  not  an  hour,  prepared  forty-four 
children  for  First  Holy  Communion  and  got  home 
with  only  a  jammed  fender  and  tired  bodies. 
We  were  very  grateful  to  God  for  our  many 
narrow  escapes.  They  say  that  an  inch  is  as 
good  as  a  mile,  and  it  surely  means  a  lot  at  the 
edge  of  a  cliff! 

S.O.S. 


THE  HIGHEST  GENIUS  IS  WILLINGNESS  AND  ABILITY  TO  DO  HARD  AVOKR 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


15 


VACATION  SCHOOLS  IN  SASKATCHEWAN 


THE  traffic  was  heavy,  and  as  we  approach- 
ed the  crossings  the  light  turned  red.  Our 
prayers  ascended  as  clouds  to  St.  Christo- 
pher, petitioning  him  to  keep  a  steady  hand  on  the 
bus  and  get  us  there  on  time.  On  reaching  the 
station  we  began  to  wonder  if  St.  Christopher 
was  trying  our  patience.  After  two  hours  and 
a  half  of  weary  waiting,  the  long-expected  ve- 
hicle arrived,  with  only  accommodation  for 
twenty  of  us,  while  fifteen  other  disappointed 
and  down-hearted  travellers  looked  on  in  wonder- 
ment. The  belated  conductor,  moved  by  the  sad 
atmosphere,  took  a  last  glimpse  at  us  and  finally 
decided  to  impose  on  the  generosity  of  the  oc- 
cupants to  make  room  for  us  also.  Off  we  went, 
tightly  wedged,  but  happy- — setting  out  on  our 
five  weeks'  tour,  during  which  we  hoped  to  sow 
the  seed  of  "God's  love"  in  the  hearts  of  His 
little  ones. 

At  M.  we  separated,  Sister  going  further 
South.  M.  is  a  mission  centre,  attended  bi- 
monthly by  a  Missionary  Father.  At  6.30  the 
first  morning  I  could  hear  the  children  talking 
outside  my  window.  One  of  them  was  saying : 
"I  wonder  if  an  S.O.S.  is  going  to  teach  us  this 
year."  I  was  soon  out  and  welcoming  forty-one 
boys  and  girls.  I  could  almost  say  young  men, 
for  in  the  group  were  lads  of  sixteen  and  seven- 
teen, who  were  coming  to  learn  more  about  their 
Faith. 

Father  N.  arrived  at  8.30  and  plans  were  dis- 
cussed for  the  conducting  of  a  Vacation  School. 
We  were  privileged  to  have  Mass  daily  at  9 
o'clock,  a  number  of  the  children  receiving  Holy 
Communion  every  morning.  How  pleased  our 
Lord  must  have  been,  for  many  of  these  children 
lived  a  long  distance  and  were  fasting  until  al- 
most 10  o'clock. 

The  children  in  this  centre  were  most  atten- 
tive during  instruction  and  desirous  of  learning 
all  they  could  about  God  and  His  Holy  Church. 
Evidence  of  this  was  given  when  they  turned 
down  the  "Annual  Fair"  to  attend  class.  Re- 
creation had  its  place  in  the  programme,  the 
enthusiasm  for  soft  ball  giving  proof  of  the  old 
adage:  "He  who  plays  well,  prays  well."  The 
pastor  taught  the  older  boys  how  to  serve  Mass. 
Considerable  time  was  given  to  the  children's 
choir,  the  little  ones  singing  daily  for  Benedic- 
tion. And  how  joyously  their  sweet  voices  re- 
sounded on  First  Communion  Day  !  On  July  10th 
I  bade  farewell  to  these  smiling  happy  children, 
whose  young  hearts  yearned  for  a  still  longer 
period  of  instruction  in  Christ's  Holy  Doctrines. 

My  companion  joined  me  the  same  day  and 
we  set  off  for  O,  a  Polish  settlement.    Here,  in 


spite  of  the  intense  heat  we  had  an  attendance 
of  50  children  daily.  One  class  was  held  in  the 
Church,  while  the  other  sought  shelter  in  an 
old  dilapidated  rectory,  no  longer  used  as  a 
priest's  residence.  Every  now  and  then  a  bird 
was  seen  fluttering  over  our  heads,  trying  to 
make  its  exit  through  a  crack  in  the  window- 
pane. 

In  spite  of  the  flies,  the  birds  and  the  heat, 
the  children  showed  very  good  will,  and  exhibit- 
ed a  great  desire  to  become  more  closely  ac- 
quainted with  the  truths  of  our  Holy  Faith. 

Twelve  children  were  instructed  for  First 
Holy  Communion.  Before  the  Great  Day  dawn- 
ed, Father  came  in  to  question  the  little  ones. 
Mike,  on  being  asked  why  the  priest  blessed  him 
when  he  said  the  words :  "Bless  me,  Father,  for 
I  have  sinned,"  replied:  "So  you  won't  swear  at 
me,  Father."  Mike  afforded  us  many  a  hearty 
laugh,  but  was  good-natured  about  it  all.  He  was 
among  the  happy  group  who  received  our  Lord 
for  the  first  time. 

Here  we  lived  two  miles  from  the  Church,  and 
this  meant  taking  our  breakfast  with  us  each 
morning.  We  ate  it  while  the  children  reviewed 
their  lessons  for  the  day.  Our  stay  here  was 
very  enjoyable,  the  children's  interest  being  a 
source  of  real  consolation  to  us.  Soft  ball  al- 
ternated with  religious  instruction,  and  no  day 
was  too  hot  for  the  enthusiastic  players. 

P.,  a  German  district  situated  about  60  miles 
from  C,  was  our  next  centre.  We  met  with 
splendid  co-operation  on  the  part  of  parents  and 
children.  The  weather  permitted  us  to  take  one 
class  in  the  "wide  open  spaces,"  while  the  other 
was  held  in  the  church. 

On  the  fourth  day  two  bright  new  faces  were 
seen  amidst  the  other  smiling  countenances. 
Questioned  regarding  their  absence  during  the 
preceding  days,  they  answered :  "Sister,  we  did 
not  know  anything,  so  we  remained  home  to 
study  a  little  of  the  catechism."  Those  two  dear 
children  were  instructed,  baptized  and  made 
their  First  Holy  Communion  the  following  Sun- 
day. 

July  25th  was  First  Communion  Day.  Three 
boys  and  five  girls  approached  the  altar  rail  for 
the  first  time.  Before  Mass,  the  children  march- 
ed into  the  church,  two  by  two,  singing,  "On 
this  day,  O  Beautiful  Mother;"  they  also  sang 
during  the  Mass.  Father  particularly  stressed 
the  art  of  singing  and  encouraged  the  children  to 
keep  up  this  beautiful  practice.  We  feel  sure 
that  the  children,  as  great  lovers  of  Mary  and 
her  Divine  Son,  will  be  faithful  to  singing  their 
praises. 


THE  MORE  WE  DO,  THE  MORE  WE  CAN  DO;  THE  MORE  RUSY  WE  ARE  THE  MORE  LEISURE  WE  HAVE 


16 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


Tuesday,  July  27th,  brought  our  work  here 
to  a  close.  A  final  ball  game  was  enjoyed,  fol- 
lowed by  a  peanut-scramble.  The  children  were 
enrolled  in  the  "Five  Scapulars."  Lastly,  we  had 
Benediction,  during  which  we  prayed  the  Great 
Master  of  souls  to  keep  these  little  ones  close 
to  His  Divine  Heart. 

Our  work  at  H.,  one  of  Father  D's  missions, 
completed  our  summer  programme.  We  had 
planned  to  lodge  in  the  teacherage,  but  this  year 
it  was  occupied  by  the  teacher  and  his  family,  so 
we  lived  in  the  parish  hall  close  to  the  church. 
On  our  arrival  there  were  still  a  few  prepara- 
tions to  be  made.  A  screen  had  to  be  construct- 
ed for  our  one  and  only  window,  the  side  door 
hung  properly  on  its  hinges  to  keep  out  the  too 
familiar  flies  who  insisted  on  keeping  us  com- 
pany, and  the  stove  erected  and  put  in  working 
order,  so  as  to  prepare  an  appetizing  meal  for 
the  hungry  wayfarers. 

Our  next  duty  was  to  become  acquainted  with 
our  pupils,  and  get  them  enrolled.  There  were 
forty-five,  and  from  our  smallest  of  six,  to  our 
champion  "pitcher"  of  seventeen,  all  showed  a 
spirit  of  kindness,  generosity  and  friendliness. 

Dicky,  our  baby,  was  born  in  Montana.  Hav- 
ing lost  his  mother  last  spring,  he  came  here 
to  live  with  his  uncle  and  aunt.  Unhappily,  he 
had  not  as  yet  been  baptized,  but  he  attended 
classes  faithfully  each  day,  and  his  frequent 
query  was:  "How  soon  will  Father  'vaccinate' 
me  and  make  my  soul  like  the  others?"  The 
stories  of  Our  Lord's  life  were  new  to  him,  and 
of  great  interest.  His  description  of  a  spirit  was : 
"Something  that  has  no  stomach."  On  being 
asked  in  what  shape  the  Holy  Ghost  appeared  at 
Our  Lord's  Baptism,  he  said,  "In  good  shape, 
Sister."  Dicky  soon  became  a  favourite  of  young 
and  old,  and  all  were  present  at  his  baptism.  He 
also  made  his  First  "Communion  before  the  clos- 
ing of  vacation  school. 

The  nights  here  were  quiet  and  undisturbed, 


"Dicky"  with  his  Teacher. 

WHEN  GOD  MAKES  THE  WORLD  TOO 


except  for  the  "pow-wow"  dance  the  mice  so 
tactlessly  put  on  at  midnight.  Some  even  left 
their  ranks  to  pay  tribute  to  the  sleeping  Sisters. 

Our  food  was  generously  donated  by  the 
parents  of  the  children,  and  provided  a  varied 
menu.  All  was  carefully  cooked  and  prepared 
before-hand,  and  this  thoughtfulness  afforded  us 
more  time  with  the  children.  Eight  children  were 
prepared  for  First  Holy  Communion,  which  took 
place  on  August  6th,  when  we  said  "Good-bye" 
to  vacation  school  work  for  the  season  and  re- 
turned to  our  Convent  home.  „,  ~ 


AN  ENTHUSIASTIC  MASS  SERVER 

The  following  letter  was  received  by  one  of 
our  Sisters  who  gave  religious  instruction  in  the 
rural  districts  of  Alberta  last  summer : 
Dear  Sister:  — 

What  I  wrote  you  for  is  to  let  you  know  how  I 
am  serving  Mass.  I've  served  ten  Masses  since  you 
left.  I've  served  Two  dead  Masses,  and  eight  other 
Masses  besides,  I've  only  served  Mass  once  for  Fr. 
M.  Seven  for  Fr.  Mac,  one  for  Fr.  L.  I  can  say  my 
Latin  real  fast  now,  from  when  you  stopped  teach- 
ing me,  I  serve  Mass  by  myself,  because  I  have  not 
got  a  partner  yet  but  may  be  some  other  little  boy 
will  be  learning  later  on,  but  I  think  I  can  do  it  better 
by  myself.  I  find  that  it  is  very  easy  now  that  I 
know  how  to  do  it.  Oh  yes  I  almost  forgot  to  tell 
you  that  we  got  a  new  Altar.  It  is  completed  except 
for  being  painted.  There  is  a  nice  new  church  at 
Luscar,  ready  to  be  opened  by  Fr.  Mc.  when  he  comes 
back  from  his  holidays. 

We  still  got  Glen  our  little  Scottie  dog,  who  is  so 
fat  that  he  can  hardly  sit  up  any  more,  he  likes 
chasing  the  cat  as  much  as  ever.  Mother  and  Dad 
are  all  feeling  well  as  myself,  and  I  am  feeling  pretty 
good.  I  hope  you  are  feeling  well  yourself,  and  I 
also  hope  that  you  can  come  up  to  C.  next  summer 
like  you  did  this  summer.  Did  I  tell  you  that  I  have 
passed  into  grade  seven? 

I  have  heard  that  Sister  W.  has  gone  to  Edmon- 
ton and  I  want  you  to  give  her  kind  regards  when 
she  returns,  may  God  Bless  and  keep  you  is  my 
sincerest  wishes. 

Sincerely, 


NEW  HORIZONS. 

(Continued  from  page  7) 

surprised."  Such  was  the  case  at  the  end  of  the 
school  term  when  the  parents  and  children  gave 
the  Sisters  a  surprise  party  in  the  school  grounds 
on  Sunday  afternoon.  It  was  a  friendly  and  lovely 
gesture,  planned  by  the  children  of  the  school  to 
show  their  appreciation  of  our  work  among  them, 
and  we  could  say  with  Dickens:  "We  love  these 
little  folk,  and  it  is  not  a  slight  thing  when 
they,  who  are  so  fresh  from  God,  love  us." 


May  Mary's  Infant  bless  us  and  may  His  peace 
reign  in  our  hearts ! 

HOT  FOR  US  TO  HOLD,  WE  LET  IT  GO 


APRIL,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


'GKUnOLlC 


N/XLlONftL 


I 

(5) 

I 
1 
I 


EDITORIALS! 


"JWp  last  l$tU  anb  fteatament 


WHEN  death  comes  human  life  remains 
crystallized  in  a  document  known  as  "MY 
LAST  WILL."  This  final  expression  of  our 
mind  and  heart  sums  up  as  it  were  our  whole 
life.  This  document  duly  signed  in  full  con- 
sciousness and  sealed  by  the  law  to  protect  it 
against  the  invasions  of  hungry  relatives  and 
interested  friends,  is  "our  testament."  This  dis- 
posal after  death  of  all  that  belonged  to  us  re- 
veals clearly  the  intentions  of  our  heart  and  the 
interests  which  Avere  uppermost  in  our  minds 
during  our  lifetime. 

A  "WILL"  is  indeed  a  reflection  of  man's  life. 
For  what  he  leaves  after  him  has  generally  been 
the  fruit  of  his  toil  and  labour.  Without  being 
unduly  attached  to  his  possessions,  he  has  natur- 
ally at  heart  to  see  that  what  he  has  accumulated 
through  years  of  work  and  struggle  goes  to  per- 
sons and  causes  he  loved  during  life.  This  final 
disposal  of  one's  earthly  goods  is  generally  the 
result  of  many  years  of  thought.  The  stern,  in- 
evitable reality  of  death  and  the  lasting  separa- 
tion it  implies  give  to  it  a  great  seriousness  and 
fixity  of  purpose. 

Man's  "LAST  WILL"  is  always  somewhat  of 
a  revelation  even  to  his  dearest  relatives  and 
closest  friends.  It  brings  to  the  surface  those 
abiding  affections  and  stirring  interests  that  lie 
deeply  buried  in  the  human  heart.  These  are  in- 
deed the  hidden  anchors  that  hold  the  floating 
buoys  which  marked  our  course  on  the  restless 
and  changing  sea  of  life.  Death  reveals  the 
depths  in  which  they  are  embedded. 

Throughout  history  "this  last  will"  of  man  has 
always  been  considered  sacred  and  A^ested  with 
the  solemnity  and  immutability  of  death  itself. 


Its  inviolability  is  protected  by  the  highest  sanc- 
tions of  the  courts  of  the  land.  For  that  which 
man  has  possessed  during  life  is  considered  as  an 
extension  of  his  oavii  personality.  What  he  de- 
cides to  do  Avith  his  property  is  his  privilege. 
And  this  privilege  is  respected  by  the  law  just 
as  his  OAvn  person.  His  signature  gives  to  his 
last  testament  its  validity.  When  death  has 
stilled  the  hand  that  wrote  it,  it  cannot  be 
changed.   His  "last  Avill"  goes  on  for  ever. 

What  shall  your  "last  will  and  testament" 
reveal  ?  If  among  the  beneficiaries  GOD  and  HIS 
CHURCH  are  not  mentioned  in  this  closing  docu- 
ment of  your  life,  will  it  not  mean  that  they  held 
no  great  part  in  the  scheme  of  your  existence? 
OtherAvise,  Avoiald  you  not  have  named  them  at 
the  very  hour  Avhen  "the  evening  comes,  and 
the  busy  world  is  hushed,  and  the  fever  of  life 
is  over,  and  our  work  is  done?"  (Cardinal  New- 
man). And  should  not  a  will  be  made  as  if  we 
were  standing  on  the  threshold  of  eternity? 

What  are  the  interests  of  God  on  this  earth? 
The  spreading  of  His  Kingdom.  This  is  the 
work  of  the  missionaries.  In  Canada  Ave  still  have 
a  vast  mission  Field  out  West.  There  the  Sis- 
ters of  Service  are  dedicating  their  lives  to  the 
preservation  of  the  Faith  among  our  people 
scattered  over  an  immense  territory.  To  help 
them  in  this  labour  of  love  is  assuredly  to  have  at 
heart  the  interests  of  God,  and  of  our  Divine 
Redeemer. 

If  our  humble  Institute  was  able  in  the  last 
feAV  years  to  meet  its  financial  obligations  and  to 
continue  to  extend  its  mission  it  was  principally 
due  to  the  fact  that  some  generous  souls  remem- 
bered our  work  in  their  last  will.     By  giving 


BY  READING  YOU  ENRICH  THE  MIND;   BY  CONVERSATION  YOU  POLISH  IT. 


2 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


APRIL,  1940 


something  of  their  estate  to  our  missionary  en- 
deavour we  may  say  that  they  have  continued 
after  their  death  to  spread  the  Kingdom  of  God 
on  earth.  And  can  there  be  any  better  assurance 
that  God  in  return  for  their  interest  in  His 
Kingdom  on  earth  has  assured  to  them  the  pos- 
session of  His  Kingdom  in  Heaven? 

In  remembering  among  the  religious  bequests 
of  your  Will  the  missionary  work  of  the  Sisters 
of  Service,  you  will  prove  to  those  with  whom 
you  lived  that  the  sheet  anchor  of  your  life 
uested  in  the  depths  of  the  Catholic  Faith.  At  that 
solemn  hour  of  death  "your  last  will  and  testa- 
ment" will  be  a  revelation  of  your  interest  in 
God  and  His  Church  during  life. 


APRIL  FROLIC 

By  ISABELLE  E.  KEELER 
New  York,  N.Y. 

I  saw  white-caps  kissing  the  pebbles 
That  lie  on  the  sunny  beach ; 

And  mothers  laughed  as  their  babies 
Escaped  the  blue  ocean's  reach. 

I  saw  children  building  castles 
Out  of  pink  shells  and  wet  sand ; 

I  heard  them  telling  the  seagulls 
They  were  all  in  the  Father's  hand. 

Sweet  April,  you  cover  the  woodlands 
With  carpets  of  dewey  flowers ; 

You  frolic  upon  hard  pavements 

Where  children  must  spend  their  hours. 

Shy  April,  your  tears  are  soothing — 
They  follow  the  winds  and  snow ; 

They  bring  us  soft  rain  that  is  needed 
To  wash  this  world  of  its  woe. 

I  saw  children  building  castles 

Out  of  shell-holes — on  waste  land ; 

I  heard  them  telling  each  other 
"We're  now  in  the  despot's  hand." 

Oh  !  April,  your  tears  are  flowing 
Ou  carpets  of  blood-stained  sod; 

Your  frolic,  forsooth,  is  needed 
For  children  have  lost  their  God. 


THE  ART  OF  GIVING 

He  was  a  wise  man  who  said  that  whenever 
life  seemed  darkest  he  betook  himself  to  two 
devices  to  make  the  sun  come  out  again.  First, 
he  tried  to  help  someone  in  need.  Here  was  a 
fellow-man  who  was  obviously  finding  life's  going 
rough ;  there  was  a  worthy  cause  to  which  he 
had  forgotten  to  contribute.  He  was  not  a  rich 
man,  and  sometimes  all  that  he  could  give  was 
a  kindly  word,  or  some  little  deed  that  helped 
the  recipient  to  realize  that  all  the  world  was 
not  against  him. 

In  the  second  place,  he  would  sit  down  to 
count  the  blessings  which  Almighty  God  had  con- 
ferred upon  him.  Many  troubles  had  come  to 
him,  but  it  seemed  that  for  every  one  there  was 
some  compensation.  He  had  not  been  notably 
successful  in  his  work,  and  had  never  attained 
a  leading  position  even  in  his  little  community. 
Indeed,  he  had  suffered  many  reverses ;  but  in 
spite  of  them,  he  had  always  managed  "to  pull 
through." 

This  man,  it  should  be  noted,  was  not  an 
ecclesiastic,  to  whom  such  devices  are  familiar, 
but  an  old-fashioned  country  physician.  But  he 
was  also  a  Christian  to  whom  religion  was  a 
reality.  He  believed  in  God  and  from  his  child- 
hood had  been  steeped  in  the  wisdom  of  Saint 
Paul  who,  in  the  midst  of  his  tribulations,  taught 
that  to  those  who  love  God  all  things  work  to- 
gether unto  good. 

He  tried  to  see  what  was  good  in  man,  rather 
than  that  which  was  less  good,  and  he  was  con- 
vinced that  whatever  God  permitted  to  happen 
was  for  the  best.  It  was  a  waste  of  time,  and 
worse,  he  thought,  to  mourn  over  a  defeat,  as 
though  it  were  final,  or  "to  sit  upon  the  ground, 
and  tell  sad  stories  of  the  death  of  kings."  To 
his  mind,  that  was  a  philosophy  unworthy  of  a 
man  who  had  learned,  with  Saint  Paul,  that  the 
tribulations  of  this  life  are  as  trifles,  compared 
with  the  good  things  which  God,  our  Father,  has 
in  store  for  those  who  try  to  serve  Him. 

Tn  our  better  moments,  most  of  us  are  very 
like  this  simple  country  doctor.  Life  would  be 
much  easier  for  us  if  we  tried  to  make  his  daily 
plan  of  life  our  own.  The  trouble  with  most  of 
us  is  that  we  are  so  intent  upon  getting  that  we 
forget  the  blessedness  of  giving.  "Be  ye  perfect, 
as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect."  If  that  ideal 
seems  so  high  that  it  is  impossible,  let  us  remem- 
ber that  it  is  the  counsel  of  our  Blessed  Lord 
Himself.  But  God  manifests  His  love  for  us  by 
giving.  and  if  we  wish  to  follow  the  counsels  of 
Christ,  we.  loo.  must  give,  to  God,  and  to  God's 
children. 

(America"). 


LOVE  IS  THE   FILLING   FROM  ONE'S   OWN   ANOTHER'S  CUP. 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


Notes  and  Comments 

[_  .  „_,  _  ,  j 


"DARKNESS  OVER  THE  EARTH" 
"The  Holy  Gospel  narrates  that 
when  Jesus  was  crucified  'there  was 
darkness  over  the  whole  earth' 
(St.  Matthew  XXVII-45):  a  ter- 
rifying symbol  of  what  happened 
and  what  still  happens  spiritually 
whenever  incredulity,  blind  and 
proud  of  itself,  has  succeeded  in 
excluding  Christ  from  modern  life, 
especially  from  public  life,  and  has 
undermined  faith  in  God  as  well 
as  faith  in  Christ.  The  conse- 
quence is  that  the  moral  values 
have  fallen  into  disuse;  and  the 
much-vaunted  laicisation  of  society 
has  caused  to  reappear,  in  regions 
in  which  for  many  centuries  shone 
the  splendours  of  Christian  civili- 
sation, in  a  manner  ever  clearer, 
ever  more  distinct,  ever  more  dis- 
tressing, the  signs  of  a  corrupt  and 
corrupting  paganism:  'There  was 
darkness  when  they  crucified  Jesus' 
(Roman  Breviary:  Good  Friday). 
(Pope  Pius  XII.) 

PROPORTION. 

At  a  parish  conference,  one  man 
objected  strenuously  to  the  sugges- 
tion that  members  of  the  Church 
should  be  asked  to  pledge  in  the 
Every  Member  Canvass  in  accord- 
ance with  their  means,  or  on  a 
proportionate  giving  basis.  "What 
I  give  is  entirely  between  me  and 
my  God,"  he  declared  with  consid- 
erable warmth.  That  man  was 
worth  several  million  dollars.  His 
pledge  was  75  cents  a  week. 

After  the  meeting  the  visiting 
speaker  of  the  occasion  was  driven 
to  the  railroad  station  in  the  im- 
posing limousine  of  this  same 
parishioner.  Sitting  with  the 
chauffeur,  he  inquired  about  his 
Church.  "I  belong  to  the  United 
Brethren,"  said  the  chauffeur. 
"And  do  you  give  regularly  to 
your  church?"  "Oh,  yes,"  was 
the  reply,  "I  give  $3.00  a  week, 
and  my  wife  gives  $2.00." 

"Five  dollars  a  week  from  the 
chauffeur  on  the  front  seat — 75 
cents  from  the  gentleman  in  the 
rear,"  mused  the  visitor;  "truly 
in  both  cases  giving  is  a  matter 
between  a  man  and  his  God." 

It  matters  little  whether  we  are 
rich  or  poor,  prosperous  or  unfor- 
tunate in  the  world,  provided  we 
are  minting  money  for  heaven,  by 
the  practice,  of  patience,  resigna- 
tion, honesty  and  the  love  of  God. 
— 'Cardinal  Vaughan. 


LOOKING    INTO    HIS  FACE 

Many  persons  of  all  types  and 
ages  have  been  struck  by  the  re- 
velation of  the  Face  of  Christ  as 
with  the  impact  of  a  blow.  They 
woke  up  and  realized  for  the  first 
time  who  Christ  is  and  what  He 
means  to  them  personally.  It  is  as 
in  the  days  He  walked  the  streets 
and  the  hillsides  of  Palestine,  and 
the  vision  of  His  living  Face  work- 
ed its  wonders  with  many  hearts. 
One  look,  and  the  heart  of  Peter 
broke  almost  as  soon  as  the  scorch- 
ing words  of  denial  had  died  away 
on  the  night  air.  Generous  young 
men  promptly  left  the  pleasant 
things  of  life  for  a  discipleship 
in  the  school  of  the  cross.  The 
lusterless  eyes  of  the  aged  lit  up 
with  a  new  hope  and  their  wan- 
ing years  were  transfigured  with  a 
great  peace.  The  poor  saw  in  that 
Face  the  consecration  of  their  pov- 
erty, the  suffering  saw  the  sanc- 
tity of  their  pain,  the  outcast  saw 
the  promise  of  a  sure  refuge.  And 
Mary!  She  knew  that  Face  as  only 
a  mother  can  know  the  face  of  her 
child — in  its  flower-like  infancy, 
in  its  handsome  youth,  in  its  ma- 
jestic manhood.  With  what  clear- 
sighted faith  did  she  realize  that 
this  was  tne  living  shrine  of  the 
All-Holy,  the  human  expression  of 
the  Eternal  Word,  moulded  to  the 
likeness  of  her  own  pure  coun- 
tenance! And  then  she  saw  it  as 
we  see  it  now,  beaten  and  bruised 
at  the  hands  of  men  He  had  come 
to  save.  Was  it  not  the  final  re- 
velation? Did  not  Mary  see  there 
the  whole  life  story  of  her  Son 
with  its  master  idea  laid  bare! 
(Rev.  E.  A.  Wuenschel,  C.SS.R., 
in  the  Redemptorist  Record, 
January,  1940). 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  "MARY" 

A  Bavarian  priest  has  made  re- 
search into  the  origin  of  the  name 
"Mary"  and  believes  it  comes  from 
the  old  Egyptian  language  and  not 
from  the  Hebrew  as  is  often  con- 
tended. Rev.  Bertie  states  that 
"Mrj-mn"  or  "Mariamun"  was  a 
frequently  used  surname  of  Egyp- 
tian queens  and  princesses,  2,000 
years  before  the  Christian  era.  It 
means  "Beloved  of  Anion"  or 
"Favorite  of  Amon."  Amon  was  the 
god  of  the  Egyptians.  Later,  many 
Hebrew  maidens  were  named  "Mir- 
jam"  which  meant  "Beloved  of 
God"  or  "Favorite  of  God,"  and 
the  Greeks  had  the  same  name  in 
the  form  of  "Mariamme." 


THE  MENACE  OF  THE  DAY. 

"Not  since  the  scourge  of  Mo- 
hammedanism swept  over  Asia, 
Africa  and  Southern  Europe  has 
Christianity,  and  especially  Catho- 
licism, faced  such  a  formidable 
and  relentless  foe  as  confronts  us 
to-day.  The  present  scourge  is 
Communism,  which  rears  its  gro- 
tesque head  as  the  enemy  of  God 
and  of  all  things  godly. 

To  those  who  are  in  sympathy 
with  it  Communism  announces 
boldly,  in  the  language  of  Feno- 
viev,  that  "it  will  grapple  with 
God  in  His  highest  heaven  and 
will  vanquish  Him  in  due  sea- 
son." To  the  less  sympathetic, 
as  well  as  the  open  antagonist, 
Communism  would  insinuate  itself 
by  means  of  the  subtle  propagan- 
da which  represents  it  as  being 
primarily  an  economic  and  social 
movement  designed  to  ameliorate 
the  lot  of  suffering  masses."  (J. 
E.  Kuhn,  in  The  Shield). 

INFLUENCE 

A  little  clock  in  a  jeweler's  win- 
dow, in  a  certain  western  town, 
stopped  one  day  for  half  an  hour, 
at  fifteen  minutes  to  nine.  School 
children  noticing  the  time  stop- 
ped to  play;  people  hurrying  to 
the  train  saw  the  time  and  began 
to  walk  more  slowly;  professional 
men,  after  a  look  at  the  clock, 
stopped  to  chat  a  minute  with  one 
another;  working  men  and  women 
noted  the  time  and  lingered  a  little 
longer  in  the  sunshine,  and  all  were 
half  an  hour  late  because  one  small 
clock  stopped.  Never  had  these 
people  known  how  much  they  de- 
pended on  that  clock  until  it  had 
led  them  astray. 

Many  are  thus  unconsciously  de- 
pending upon  the  influences  of 
Christians;  you  may  think  you  have 
no  influence,  but  you  cannot  go 
wrong  in  one  little  act  without 
leading  others  astray. 

ONE  THING  GREATER  THAN 
HAPPINESS 

There  is  only  one  thing  greater 
than  happiness  in  the  world,  and 
that  is  holiness;  and  it  is  not  in 
our  keeping. 

But  what  God  has  put  in  our 
power  is  the  happiness  of  those 
about  us,  and  that  is  largely  to  be 
s  ecured  by  our  being  kind  to  them. 
I  wonder  why  it  is  that  we  are 
not  all  kinder  than  we  are.  How 
much  the  world  needs  it!  How 
easily  it  is  done!  How  instantan- 
eously it  acts!  How  infallibly  it  is 
remembered!  How  superabund- 
antly it  pays  itself  back;  for  there 
is  no  debtor  in  the  world  so  honor- 
able, so  superbly  honorable,  as 
Love. — Henry  Drummond. 


AN  ACT  OF  GOODNESS  IS  OF  ITSELF  AN  ACT  OF  HAPPINESS. 


4 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


APRIL,  1940 


RETREAT 


THIS  year  our  mid-winter  Retreat  was 
preached  by  Reverend  Father  Healey, 
C.SSR.  On  the  night  of  the  opening  of  the 
exercises,  Father  told  us  he  wanted  the  Retreat 
to  be  a  time  of  questioning — eight  days  which 
we  were  to  spend  in  asking  questions  and  re- 
ceiving answers  concerning  religious  life. 

In  accordance  with  this  initial  promise,  Father 
spared  no  effort  in  explaining  the  various  phases 
of  religious  living.  Surely  no  Sister  who  had 
the  privilege  of  making  this  Retreat  can  ever 
say,  under  any  circumstances,  that  she  never 
really  understood  her  religious  obligations.  The 
sound  advice,  inspiring  ideals,  and  helpful  en- 
couragement which  permeated  the  daily  Con- 
ferences and  Meditations  will,  we  know,  enrich 
the  hearts  and  lives  of  the  Retreatants  and  be  an 
irresistible  incentive  to  walk  worthy  in  the  voca- 
tion to  which  they  are  called. 

First  Professions 

At  the  close  of  the  Retreat,  on  the  lovely 
Feast  of  Our  Lady's  Purification,  six  novices 
made  their  first  vows,  receiving  the  simple  Pro- 
fession Cross  —  symbol  of  consecration  to  their 
Crucified  Love.    On  the  eve  of  the  Feast  four 


I  have  come  to  serve 

AT 

HEADQUARTERS 

postulants  had  the  happiness  of  receiving  the 
holy  habit. 

The  vows  of  the  Sisters  were  received  by  the 
Retreat  Master.  At  the  close  of  the  ceremony 
Father  gave  a  little  talk  which  will  be  long  re- 
membered by  those  present.  He  said  that  to  him 
the  second  of  February  was  the  day  in  the  Com- 
munity of  the  Sisters  of  Service  because  on  that 
beautiful  Feast  on  which  we  commemorate  the 
offering  of  the  Child  Jesus  to  His  Heavenly 
Father  by  Our  Blessed  Mother,  the  Community 
also  offers  to  God  its  first  born — those  making 
their  first  vows. 

Father  also  told  us  that  whenever  he  assists 
at  a  profession  or  investiture,  somehow  the  Con- 
vent Chapel  has  about  it  the  perfume  of  mystic 
roses.  The  cloister  is  a  rose  garden — a  rosary — 
and  every  one  of  the  Sisters  are  rosary  workers. 
They  take  the  roses,  press  and  dry  them,  and 
from  those  dried  leaves  and  buds  they  make 
the  beads  and  crucifix  of  their  mystic  rosary. 

This  mystic  rosary,  like  the  one  we  use  daily, 
has  its  joyful  mysteries,  its  sorrowful  nrysteries. 
and  its  glorious  mysteries,  although  we  have  not 
the  glorious  mysteries  until  we  reach  heaven. 
This  rosary  also  has  its  cross — and  the  cross  is 
our  religious  living.  We  are  making  the  cross 
out  of  the  dried  petals  of  the  roses  that  grow 
in  our  garden — the  Community.  The  Paters  are 
our  vows ;  the  Glorias,  everything  we  do  to 
praise  the  Trinity;  the  Aves  are  everything  we  do 
for  God.  The  golden  chain  that  links  all  to- 
gether in  our  good  intention — our  good  will.  We 
want,  this  Rosary  to  be  something  beautiful.  "We 
start,  our  religious  living  with  a  cross.  And  we 
go  on  with  the  Our  Father  and  three  Hail  Marys 
— our  Vows  and  our  Rule.  Our  Aves  are  our 
joys  and  sorrows  as  Ave  go  along  from  our  pos- 
tulancy  and  novitiate  to  active  missionary  life. 
We  work  and  we  toil  at  that.  And  every  mo- 
ment we  look  up  to  see  the  amber  light  in  the 
sky  of  the  glorious  mysteries  that  will  come,  and 
of  which  we  catch  only  a  glimpse  as  we  work  on 


TO  OBEY  GOD  IS  PERFECT  LIBERTY. 


APRIL,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


5 


the  joyful  and  sorrowful  mysteries.  We  try  to 
finish  that  rosary  before  we  die,  but  we  never 
do.  The  angel  of  death  comes  and  links  the 
last  chain — the  last  Aves,  and  he  takes  the  Rosary 
we  have  woven  and  puts  it  in  our  hand — our 
hands  our  filled  with  its  perfume.  "We  hand  it  to 
Jesus,  and  He  looks  at  it  and  smiles.  "Why, 
child,  it  is  beautiful  and  it  smells  so  sweet."  And 
we  say:  "Yes,  Jesus,  the  roses  are  beautiful  — 
they  grow  in  our  garden.  I  wanted  to  do  the 
best  I  could  for  you."  And  He  will  say:  "I 
think  I  will  give  it  my  Father."  And  He  will 
take  the  Rosary  to  His  Father  and  say:  "One  of 
my  sisters  made  it  in  her  Convent  garden."  And 
He  will  smile  and  say:  "It  is  beautiful,  child,  and 
it  smells  so  sweet.  I  must  give  you  a  Rosary 
— the  Rosary  of  Eternity."  It  is  beautiful  and 
scented,  and  all  through  Eternity  you  will  be 
saying  your  beads  before  the  Throne  of  God.  And 
there  will  be  only  joyful  and  glorious  mysteries 
there — no  sorrowful  ones. 

In  conclusion,  Father  said:  "So,  to-day  Sis- 
ters, I  ask  your  Jesus,  your  Mother  Mary  and 
your  Father  in  Heaven  to  bless  you  and  to  give 
the  young  hearts  who  vowed  themselves  to  Him 
for  the  first  time  grace  to  persevere  until  death. 
And  to  those  who  have  donned  the  holy  habit 
for  the  first  time  I  say  —  have  heart ;  have  cour- 
age. It's  worth  while.  There  is  something  sweet 
and  something  holy  about  that  task  of  making 
the  Rosary.  Make  your  Rosary  the  best  any 
Sister  of  Service  ever  made.  That  should  be 
the  ambition  of  every  one  of  you — through  love. 
I  leave  you  in  the  Hands  of  Jesus.  I  leave  you  in 
the  hands  of  your  Mother.   God  bless  you." 

The  Sisters  making  their  first  vows  were : 
Sister  Ann  Johnson,  Sister  Elizabeth  McGrath, 
Sister  Edna  Deland,  Sister  Ann  O'Connor,  Sister 
Katherine  Kluttermann,  and  Sister  Bertha  Jack- 
son. 

#    #  # 

On  Active  Service 

On  the  morning  of  Profession,  the  newly-vow- 
ed soldiers  of  Christ  received  their  assignments 
to  various  points  of  the  mission  field  and  are 
all  now  happily  engaged  in  work  for  souls,  for 
love  of  the  Master.  Sister  McGrath  was  appoint- 
ed to  Ottawa  mission,  Sister  Deland  to  Toronto 
Hostel,  Sister  O'Connor  to  Wexford  School,  while 
Sisters  Kluttermann,  Jackson  and  Johnson  were 
assigned  to  Montreal  mission. 


FRANKNESS. 

There  is  a  frankness  which  is  brutal,  and  I 
abhor  it;  there  is  a  frankness  which  is  foolish, 
and  I  fear  it;  there  is  a  frankness  which  is  sin- 
cere, and  I  love  it. 


 ,  ,  .  ,,  — .  .  + 

A  MORE  BLESSED  THING.  j 

In  this  allocution  to  the  national  direc-  j 

I  tors  of  the  Societies  of  the  Propagation  of  ? 

J  the  Faith  and  St.  Peter  the  Apostle,  as-  | 

|  sembled  at  Rome  for  the  yearly  general  § 

f  meeting,  Our  Holy  Father,  Pope  Pius  XI,  I 
recalled  the  words  of  Our  Lord  quoted  by 
St.  Paul :    "It  is  a  more  blessed  thing  to 
give  rather  than  to  receive."    A  blessed 

thing,  who  does  not  know  it  by  experi-  j 

ence?    Who  has  not  some  time  tasted  the  f 

j  delicate  joy  of  helping  the  unfortunate,  of  = 

J  bringing  a  little  sunshine  into  a  sad  home,  of  ' 

I   contributing  to  a  good  cause?   There  should  I 

I  be  no  greater  joy  than  to  relieve  the  spiritual  I 

'   distress  of  one's  neighbour.   The  greater  the  j 

I  plentitude  of  spiritual  good  we  bring  to  \ 

I   our  neighbour,  the  greater  should  be   the  j 

I   joy  of  depriving  ourselves  for  him.    The  ! 

J  smallest  donations  offered  for  our  missions  s 

f  are  so  to  say  infinitely  productive  of  spiritual  ' 

f   good  for  souls.  ! 

+  ,  ,_  „„_„„_„  „„_„_»* 

AN  IDEA  FOR  THE  MISSION-MINDED. 

The  following  letter  accompanied  five  hundred 
stamps  in  aid  of  our  religious  correspondence 
work.  We  hope  it  will  inspire  many  other  groups 
of  young  people  to  try  the  same  experiment  with 
like  success : 

Dear  Sisters: 

The  girls  of  the  Cathedral  High  School  have  a 
Junior  Sodality  and  each  month  each  form  stages  a 
dramatic  performance.  January  was  assigned  to  the 
Third  Form.  It  was  decided  beforehand  to  charge 
three  lc.  stamps  for  admission,  the  proceeds  to  go 
to  the  Sisters  of  Service.  Enclosed  is  the  result — 
five  hundred  one  cent  stamps. 

With  these  stamps  go  our  prayers  that  God  will 
bless  your  missions  and  that  you  will  be  successful 
in  all  your  work. 

Yours  sincerely, 


PICK  UP  A  PIN  AND  PRACTISE  FIVE 
VIRTUES. 

1.  Patience :  you  are  perhaps  in  a  hurry  and  do 

not  want  to  stop  for  such  a  trifle. 

2.  Charity :  you  may  prevent  someone  from  stick- 

ing that  pin  in  his  foot. 

3.  Poverty :  you  save  the  pin  and  when  you  or 

someone  else  needs  it,  you  have  it. 

4.  Mortification :  a  pin  is  hard  to  pick  up ;  you 

may  prick  your  finger,  and  you  may  have 
to  chase  it  all  over  the  floor. 

5.  Humility :  you  have  to  bend  low,  and  bending 

is  hard,  for  some  people,  especially  after  a 
good  dinner. 


SUCCESS  IS  NOT  SO  MUCH  ABILITY  AS  APPLICABILITY. 


6 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


APRIL,  1940 


Extracts  from  the  Diary  of  an  S.O.S.  Catechist 


JULY  3rd.— After  9  o'clock  Mass  we  left  for 
H.  There  were  Father  L.,  Sister  M.,  two 
altar  boys  and  myself.  "When  we  reached  the 
ferry,  some  of  Father's  parishioners  were  waiting 
for  a  ride.  One  woman  climbed  into  the  back  seat 
with  Sister  and  myself,  another  with  her  little 
boy  got  in  the  front  seat  with  Father,  and  two 
altar  boys  stood  on  the  running  board.  There 
was  a  good  attendance  at  Mass.  After  Mass  I 
went  to  the  home  of  the  people,  where  I  was  to 
stay  for  the  week.  What  a  crowd  there  was  for 
dinner,  which  we  had  at  about  2.30  p.m.  There 
were  three  visiting  families.  I  could  not  tell 
whether  it  was  tea  or  coffee  we  had  to  drink. 
One  stout  woman  had  high  blood  pressure  and 
seemed  able  to  talk  only  in  a  A^ery  loud  tone  of 
voice.  She  said  she  knew  she  had  high  blood 
pressure,  as  it  showed  up  on  an  X-ray  she  had 
taken.  At  about  4.30  I  felt  that  I  needed  a 
change,  and  as  I  could  not  retire  to  my  room — 
it  being  the  dining  room — I  went  to  the  Church 
where  I  stayed  until  6  p.m.  By  that  time  the 
visitors  had  all  departed. 

July  4th.  What  a  night!  The  family  all  slept 
upstairs  and  I  was  down.  The  door  is  unlocked 
all  night  and  every  time  I  awoke  I  could  hear 
queer  noises.  The  window  is  only  a  few  feet 
from  the  ground  and  I  almost  jumped  out  of 
bed  when  one  of  the  dogs  started  a  blood-curdling 
whine  under  the  window.  It  rained  all  night. 
No  one  in  the  house  stirred  until  shortly  before 
seven  a.m.  Breakfast  consisted  of  porridge,  a 
piece  of  poppy  cake  and — as  yet  I  do  not  know 
if  it  was  coffee  or  tea.  After  breakfast  I  went 
over  to  the  church.  It  rained  all  the  way.  I 
"skidded"  all  over  the  road  and  lost  my  rubbers 
twice.  I  had  class  until  noon.  We  (the  children 
and  myself)  had  lunch  together.    It  was  still 


raining,  so  we  had  to  eat  inside.  We  sat  on  the 
kneelers  (of  course  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  not 
reserved).  My  lunch  consisted  of  a  fried  egg 
(cold)  between  two  slices  of  bread,  a  piece  of 
poppj^  cake  and  a  glass  of  cold  water.  (Poppy 
cake  is  a  layer  cake  with  cooked  poppy  seeds  be- 
tween the  layers).  After  class  this  afternoon  I 
slid  home  between  showers.  I  hope  and  pray 
it  will  be  fine  to-morrow.  It  is  now  five  o'clock 
and  the  lady  of  the  house  is  washing — no  sign  of 
supper.    (We  ate  at  about  7  p.m.) 

Jul}'  5th. — The  sun  is  shining  to-day — Deo 
Gratias.  There  were  three  more  pupils.  After 
class  I  drove  over  to  the  K.  home,  with  three 
boys  and  two  girls.  The  boys  live  over  three 
miles  from  the  church.  One  boy  is  lame,  so  they 
came  with  a  team  and  a  two-wheel  home-made 
cart.  I  had  supper  at  K's  and  stayed  all  night. 
At  class  to-day  one  little  girl  said  the  Hail  Mary 
this  way:   "Hail  Mary,  full  of  grapes!" 

July  6th. — This  morning  I  drove  to  the  church, 
with  the  same  children,  in  a  grain  wagon.  I  was 
surely  glad  I  had  no  false  teeth,  as  I  am  sure 
I  would  have  swallowed  them.  The  wagon  was 
so  bumpy — no  springs.  We  had  another  new 
pupil,  a  tall  boy  of  15  years,  who  has  never  made 
his  First  Communion.  Just  before  dismissal  it 
poured  rain — a  real  cloud  burst.  When  it  was 
over  we  started  off.  I  had  been  invited  back  to 
K's,  so  I  returned  with  them.  Our  new  boy  had 
come  on  a  bicycle.  The  road  was  too  muddy  for 
a  "bike,"  so  he  put  it  in  our  wagon  and  climbed 
in  with  us.  That  made  seven  of  us  and  a  "bike." 
The  road  was  awful  and  the  horses  were  sliding 
all  over  it.  Mrs.  K.  gave  us  lunch  when  we  arrived 
and  then  she  and  I  went  over  to  visit  Mrs.  R. 
We  walked  through  the  bush  and  fields  and  cut 


THE  MIND  IS  A  BANK  THAT  PAYS  COMPOUND  INTEREST  ON  THE  KNOWLEDGE  YOU  DEPOSIT  IX  IT. 


APRIL,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


7 


Fiving  the  "Bike." 


the  distance  to  one  and  a  half  miles.  We  had 
supper  there  and  returned  home  about  7.45. 

July  7th. — Rained  during  the  night,  so  the 
roads  are  quite  muddy.  Class  as  usual.  To-mor- 
row is  mail  day.  Wanted  to  send  a  letter  to 
Sister  Superior,  so  walked  down  to  the  post 
office  after  class.  It  was  a  distance  of  four  miles, 
and  it  took  me  a  little  over  an  hour  to  Avalk  it. 
The  people  there  are  Catholic.  Mrs.  N.  is  very 
kind.  I  was  rather  warm  when  I  arrived.  I  re- 
member reading  once  that  a  stout  lady  who  had 
been  walking  in  the  heat  remarked:  "I  don't 
mind  the  world  and  the  devil  much,  but  the  flesh 
does  bother  me  at  times."  These  are  my  senti- 
ments in  the  summer.  Mrs.  N.,  noticing  that  I 
was  warm,  gave  me  a  basin  of  water,  soap  and 
towels  in  her  room  and  left  me  to  have  a  good 
wash.  I  needed  no  second  invitation.  We  had 
supper  outside  in  a  nice  cool  place.  For  a 
while  after  supper  Mrs.  N.  entertained  me  by 
playing  her  favourite  classical  pieces  on  the 
gramaphone.  She  had  been  educated  in  Paris  by 
the  Sacred  Heart  nuns.  Later  Mrs.  N.  and  her 
son  drove  me  back  to  my  temporary  dwelling 
place.  Although  it  was  nearly  nine  p.m.  when  I 
arrived  the  men  were  still  working  in  the  field. 
They  had  come  in  for  a  lunch  about  5.30  and 
then  returned  to  work.  I  was  in  bed  shortly 
after  nine  and  it  must  have  been  9.30  when  the 
men  came  in  for  supper.  The  summer  is  so  short 
that  they  work  until  they  can  no  longer  see. 

July  8th. — Yesterday  was  the  first  day  we  had 
no  rain,  but  shortly  after  1  p.m.  to-day  we  had 
a  storm  with  lots  of  rain.  After  class  I  went 
home  with  the  I.  children.  They  live  over  an 
hour's  drive  from  the  church.  There  are  five 
boys  and  the  parents.  The  youngest  is  ten  years 
old.  Three  of  the  boys  have  been  coming  to  class 
every  day.  Mr.  I.  marches  around  like  a  soldier 
and  speaks  as  if  he  were  addressing  an  assembly. 
The  boys  took  me  around,  showing  me  the  goats, 


sheep,  pigs,  horses,  etc.  During  supper  I  sat 
at  the  head  of  the  table,  with  Mr.  T.  on  one  side 
and  the  youngest  boy  on  the  other.  After  sup- 
per the  boys  brought  three  goats  close  to  the 
house  and  I  was  invited  out  to  see  the  milking. 
After  this  we  sat  in  the  kitchen  and  talked.  Mr. 
I.  has  not  been  attending  church  because  he  has 
no  suit  to  wear.  He  had  a  good  one,  but  gave 
it  to  his  eldest  son. 

July  9th. — After  breakfast  I  was  taken  to  the 
barn  to  see  the  new  family  of  pups  which  arrived 
during  the  night.  The  three  boys  and  myself 
then  started  off  in  the  wagon  for  church,  picking 
up  the  K's  on  our  way.  Taught  all  day.  After 
class  I  commenced  walking  down  to  Mrs.  N's 
home.  Had  walked  about  a  mile  when  one  of 
my  pupils  came  along  with  a  team  and  offered  me 
a  ride.  I  was  grateful,  as  it  was  very  hot  and  I 
was  carrying  a  bag.  After  supper  Mrs.  N.  and 
I  visited  two  neighbours. 

July  10th. — 'Sunday  and  no  Mass.  I  made 
my  devotions  sitting  under  a  tree  on  the  river 
bank.  It  is  really  very  pretty  country.  In  the 
afternoon  Mrs.  N.  drove  me  to  Bear  Lake,  where 
I  met  some  of  my  pupils  for  next  week. 

July  11th.- — Visited  Mrs.  S.  this  morning. 
Was  invited  to  spend  the  night,  but  declined  as 
gracefully  as  I  could,  as  I  knew  she  has  only 
one  bed.  However,  I  accepted  a  cup  of  tea,  so  as 
not  to  hurt  her  feelings.  Made  another  call  at  a 
house  where  the  mother  is  non-Catholic.  The 
father,  who  was  a  Catholic,  died  about  a  year 
ago,  leaving  a  girl  of  13  years  who  has  never 
made  her  first  Communion. 

July  12th. — This  afternoon  Mrs.  S.  and  I  went 
visiting.  We  called  on  three  families,  walking 
six  miles  to  do  so.  One  of  the  ladies  on  whom 
we  called  apologized  for  the  way  she  acted  three 
years  ago  when  Sister  L.  and  I  visited  her.  She 
said  she  was  so  excited  she  had  even  forgotten  to 
ask  us  in,  but  she  added:  "You  see,  sister,  that 
was  the  first  time  in  20  years  that  I  had  seen 
a  Catholic  sister,  and  I  was  excited."  After  sup- 
per I  travelled  seven  miles  in  a  grain  wagon  to 
visit  another  family.  I  cannot  understand  why 
most  people  around  here  traA^el  in  those  grain 
wagons.  They  are  such  heavy  things  and  most 
uncomfortable.  This  one  had  only  a  board  for 
a  seat.  The  roads  were  rough  and  I  was  hang- 
ing on  to  the  board  for  dear  life.  Suddenly  we 
went  over  a  big  bump  which  nearly  unseated  me 
and  jammed  my  finger  under  the  seat.  This 
family  consists  of  mother  and  father  and  four 
boys.  The  oldest,  17  years,  has  never  been  con- 
firmed; the  second,  15  years,  has  neither  made 
his  First  Communion  nor  been  confirmed,  and  the 
other  two  have  not  even  been  baptized.  I  admir- 
ed the  garden  and  the  pigs,  went  through  a  filthy 
stable  to  see  their  famous  bantam  rooster,  and 
after  all  this  remote  preparation,  broached  the 


IT  IS  BETTER  TO  CONQUER  CIRCUMSTANCES  THAN  TO  HAVE  THEM  ADAPTED  TO  SUIT  YOU. 


8 


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APRIL,  1940 


subject  of  baptism.  Oh,  yes,  they  are  good 
Catholics  and  are  going  to  have  it  done,  but 
the  same  excuse — no  clothes — which  Ave  Avere 
given  three  years  ago  Avas  still  given.  HoAvever, 
the  mother  promised  to  have  it  done  when  Father 
comes  out  in  August.    We  shall  see. 

July  13th. — Father  L.  Avas  out  yesterday  and 
wants  First  Communion  on  Sunday,  so  I  must 
go  to  P.  to-day.  Mr.  S.  drove  me  over  in  the 
grain  wagon.  We  travelled  only  a  distance  of 
six  miles,  but  oh,  Avhat  roads !  With  a  girl  for 
guide,  I  started  off  to  visit  the  families  and  notify 
the  children  about  classes.  There  Avas  no  Avay 
of  getting  around  but  Avalking — and  Avalk  Ave 
did.  We  tramped  through  bush  and  over  hot, 
dusty  roads.  We  left  the  house  about  10.30 
a.m.  and  returned  at  about  5  p.m.  We  had  visit- 
ed five  families  and  covered  ten  miles.  I  re- 
turned hot,  dusty  and  tired.  HoAvever,  there  are 
several  children  around  here  for  First  Commun- 
ion, so  it  is  Avell  Avorth  while ! 

July  14th. — I  slept  not  too  badly,  considering 
everything.  We  had  class  under  the  trees  to- 
day. There  were  seven  children  and  Mrs.  Z. 
came  in  betAveen  times  and  listened.  She  Avanted 
to  learn  how  to  go  to  Confession  in  English,  so 
I  taught  her. 

July  15th. — To-day  I  Avas  helping  the  children 
prepare  for  their  First  Confession.  One  lad  of 
15,  who  came  out  from  the  Old  Country  about 
six  years  ago,  said :  '  'Sister,  do  you  have  to  tell 
the  sins  your  committed  in  the  Old  Country."  I 
replied  in  the  affirmative  and  Avent  on  with  the 
class.  All  the  time  I  could  see  there  Avas  some- 
thing worrying  this  boy.  I  paused  for  a  moment 
and  immediately  he  said:  "Sister,  is  it  a  sin  to 
damage  another  person's  property?"  Again  I  an- 
swered "Yes."  Before  I  had  a  chance  to  continue 
he  blurted  out:  "Sister,  in  the  Old  Country  I 
killed  a  neighbour's  duck.  I  really  did  not  mean 
to  do  it,  but  I  was  throAving  stones  and  one  hit 
the  duck  and  killed  it."  The  simplicity  of  some 
of  these  children  is  refreshing.  After  class  Mrs. 
Z.  and  I  started  off  for  Mrs.  I's  home.  Again  I 
boarded  a  grain  wagon.  They  are  getting  Avorse 
as  I  go  along.  This  one  looked  as  if  it  Avould 
fall  to  pieces  at  any  moment  and  when  leaving, 
Mr.  Z.  warned  us  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  Avheels,  as 
they  Avere  not  very  strong.  The  harness  had 
been  mended  so  much  that  it  Avas  mostly  rope. 
Mrs.  Z.  is  a  great  talker.  She  speaks  broken  Eng- 
lish so  quickly  that  you  can  understand  only 
about  half  what  she  says.  The  road  is  just  a 
trail  through  the  bush  and  very  rough  in  places. 
My  companion  Avould  be  so  busy  talking  that  she 
Avould  forget  to  watch  the  road.  I'd  see  we  Avere 
heading  for  a  stump,  but  it  Avas  useless  to  try 
to  interrupt  her  to  tell  her  about  it — so  over  it 
we  Avould  go.  Then  she  would  get  all  excited 
and  stand  up  and  turn  around  to  see  Avhat  Ave 

IT  IS  VERY  EASY  TO  FIND  REASONS  W 


bad  struck  and  Avhile  she  Avas  going  through 
this  performance,  of  course  Ave  Avould  hit  another 
stump  or  log.  I  sat  there,  praying  to  St.  Chris- 
topher that  the  Avagon  Avould  hold  together  until 
Ave  reached  the  end  of  the  trail.  Deo  gratias, 
Ave  arri\red  safely  at  the  I.  home.  After  supper 
there  was  more  excitement.  One  of  the  sheep 
had  found  its  Avay  into  the  alfalfa  and  had  eaten 
too  much.  It  became  bloated,  SAvelling  so  that  I 
thought  it  Avould  burst.  The  men  worked  OArer  it 
for  some  time,  but  could  not  save  it. 

July  16th. — After  breakfast  the  men  and  boys 
Avent  to  Avork  and  I  helped  Mrs.  I  Avith  the  chores. 
She  entertained  me  by  telling  all  her  troubles  and 
Avorries.  She  Avas  Avorried  at  the  way  her  boys 
cursed.  Said  she:  "I  don't  knoAV  Avhere  they 
pick  it  up,  but  I  sure  giA-e  them  h —  for  it."  After 
dinner  Ave  visited  families,  returning  home  in  time 
for  slipper.  As  First  Communion  is  to-morroAv,  I 
felt  I  should  go  doAvn  and  sleep  close  to  the 
church  so  as  to  be  able  to  do  a  little  decorating 
before  Mass.  So  immediately  after  supper,  I 
started  off — Avalking.  As  I  Avas  leaving,  the  billy 
goat  staged  a  "shoAv."  He  tried  to  butt  a  young 
horse  and  got  his  horns  tangled  in  the  horse's 
tail.  This  frightened  the  horse.  He  took  to  his 
heels,  dragging  the  goat  along  on  the  end  of  his 
tail.  He  banged  that  goat  into  everything  with- 
in reach  and  kicked  him  until  I  Avas  certain  the 
poor  thing  Avas  dead.  As  soon  as  they  could,  the 
boys  stopped  the  horse.  And  lo !  that  goat  stood 
up  and,  as  soon  as  its  horns  were  untangled, 
walked  quietly  away. 

July  17th. — Nine  children  made  their  First 
Communion.  They  prayed  aloud  and  sang  hymns 
during  Mass.  After  Mass  a  three-year-old  girl 
was  baptized. 

July  18th -21st. — Visited  several  families,  and 
at  one  place  arranged  for  three  children  to  be  bap- 
tized the  next  time  Father  comes. 

July  22nd. — Keturned  home. 


Wash  Day  at  Camp. 


i  OTHER  PEOPLE  SHOILD  BE  PATIENT. 


APRIL,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


9 


CAMPING  FOR  GOD. 

Arrival. 

WEARILY,  the  old  ear  pushed  its  way  up 
the  last  hill ;  then  suddenly  we  turned 
into  a  shady,  unobtrusive  road.  Ahead 
of  us  in  the  distance,  we  could  see  the  silver 
sheen  of  the  lake,  and  Ave  knew  that  our  des- 
tination was  at  hand.  Here,  we  were  to  camp 
for  two  weeks  to  instruct  children  from  sur- 
rounding districts  in  the  knowledge  of  their  holy 
Faith.  Our  natural  curiosity  was  very  soon 
changed  to  delight  as  Ave  vieAved  our  surround- 
ings. There  lay  the  lake, — dreamily  basking  in 
the  afternoon  sunlight — the  groAres  of  tall  shade 
trees,  the  green  fields  and  here  and  there  a  Avhite 
tent-top  shoAving ;  but  Avhere  Avere  the  children 
who  were  to  enjoy  all  this?  Father  informed  us 
that  they  would  arriAre  later.  In  the  meantime, 
Ave  Avere  at  liberty  to  explore  our  camping  grounds 
and  this  Ave  proceeded  to  do  very  thoroughly, 
visiting  in  turn  the  different  buildings,  tents,  the 
kitchen,  intended-chapel,  etc. 

Daily  Routine. 

Breakfast  Avas  served  at  9  a.m..  Catechism 
classes  folloAved  at  10  a.m.,  and  ended  at  4  in 
the  afternoon.  There  Avere  intermissions,  of 
course,  and  at  such  times  there  Avere  boats  on  the 
lake,  teeter-totters,  sAvings,  horseshoes,  etc.,  and 
best  of  all,  a  big  baseball  diamond.  As  there 
Avere  more  boys  than  girls  at  camp,  this  latter 
Avas  put  to  excellent  use. 

Before  meals,  the  children  Avould  line  up  at 
the  cook-house  and  each  child  would  triumphantly 
carry  away  a  Avell-filled  plate  of  meat  and  veget- 
ables. In  an  incredibly  short  time,  empty  plates 
and  smiling,  confident  faces  Avould  re-appear  at 
the  kitchen-door,  and  as  steaming  spoonfuls  of 
savory  vegetables  descended  on  their  empty 
plates — the  smiles  greAv  broader  and  eventually 
developed  into  a  real  grin,  as  they  again  took 
their  places  at  the  tables  arranged  in  the  "open- 
air  dining-room." 

Open  Air  Sanctuary. 

Not  far  from  where  the  tables  were  set  was 
a  large  Avooden  platform  (Avhich  had  previously 
been  used  for  basketball).  On  the  west  side  of 
this  platform  Avas  built  a  stage-like  structure. 
This  platform  plus  the  shelter  was  converted  into 
"an  open  air  chapel."  Father  and  a  feAV  Avilling 
helpers  made  the  shelter  into  a  sanctuary  Avhere 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  was  offered  each 
morning  ot  8.00  a.m.  Confessions  were  heard 
before  Mass  in  the  "ice  house"  near  by. 

Surely,  the  Master  must  have  smiled  down  on 
that  gathering  of  children,  kneeling  in  the  early 
morning  sunlight  Avith  the  Avhispering  of  the  trees 
overhead  and  the  songs  of  the  birds  roundabout. 
Noav  and  then,  one  could  catch  the  sound  of  the 

BEWARE  OF  WHAT  YOU  SET  YOUR  HEART 


First  Communion  in  the  Open  Air  Chapel 


voice  of  the  little  altar  boy  as  he  gave  the  re- 
sponses. Some  mornings  the  children  sang,  but 
each  morning  Mass  prayers  were  said  in  common. 

Our  Milk  Supply. 

One  "draAvback"  for  the  first  feAV  days  was 
the  scarcity  of  milk.  So  it  was  unanimously  de- 
cided to  get  "coav."  The  coming  of  the  cow  was 
a  big  event  in  camp.  For  days  before  its  arrival 
the  children  Avould  flock  to  the  road  expectantly 
every  time  they  heard  a  truck  approaching, — and 
a  general  chorus  Avould  go  up:  "The  coav  is 
coming."  HoAvever,  the  eventful  evening  at  last 
arrived  and  the  coav  made  her  "debut"  into  camp 
life.  There  Avas  general  rejoicing  everywhere — 
eATerybody  Avanted  to  "milk  the  coav."  I  doubt 
if  ever  a  cow  Avere  more  popular  than  was  our 
"Bossy."  She  would  gaze  Avonder-eyed  at  the 
groups  of  children  as  they  came  and  went  about 
the  camp.  HoAvever,  she  soon  became  used  to  her 
new  surroundings  and  had  '  'saved  the  day"  as  far 
as  camp  Avas  concerned. 

First  Communion. 

First  Communion  morning  dawned  bright  and 
fair,  and  soon  the  noise  of  cars  began  to  break 
the  early  woodland  stillness  as  parents,  brothers 
and  sisters  arrived.  Everything  was  ready.  All 
available  benches  were  gathered  and  placed  in 
rows  on  the  platform, — for  the  children  and  their 
relatives  and  friends.  There  Avere  a  few  extra 
confessions  of  parents  who  wanted  to  receive  Our 
Lord  with  their  little  ones.  Then,  the  Holy  Sac- 
rifice was  cerebrated  ...  It  was  indeed  a  happy 
morning  for  us,  their  teachers,  Avho  had  prepared 
these  little  ones  to  receive  our  Lord  for  the  first 
time.  First  Communion  morning  is  ahvays  the 
joy  and  climax  of  our  tours. 

Breaking  Camp. 

The  night  before  Ave  broke  camp  dry  brush 
(Continued  on  page  12) 

V,  FOR  IT  SHALL  MOST  SURELY  BE  YOURS. 


10 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


APRIL,  1940 


COMFORTING  THE  SORROWFUL 


IN  a  quiet  spot  of  a  Montreal  cemetery  there 
is  a  little  mound  which  will  ever  remind  the 
S.O.S.  of  a  pathetic  story  in  connection  with 
the  Sudeten  refugees. 

We  had  received  word  that  a  party  of  Sude- 
tens  would  arrive  in  Montreal  on  the  18th  of 
May,  the  same  day  that  the  Royal  Party  were 
to  arrive.  The  boat  was  to  dock  very  early  so  as 
to  give  the  officials  a  chance  to  see  Their  Majes- 
ties. Ordinarily,  the  passengers  underwent  all 
necessary  examinations,  including  medical,  at 
Quebec,  but  on  account  of  the  Royal  Party  being 
there  this  was  all  done  on  the  boat  between  Que- 
bec and  Montreal. 

The  boat  docked  at  7  a.m.  Everyone  was  in  a 
hurry  to  get  through.  Everywhere  excitement 
reigned  and  business  was  pushed  on  as  quickly 
as  possible.  The  poor  people  were  hurried 
through  and  conducted  by  bus  to  the  station 
waiting  room  where  they  were  to  spend  the  day 
until  such  time  as  their  trains  should  depart  for 
the  West. 

One  of  the  men  said  to  me:  "There  was  an- 
other family  with  us  who's  little  girl  took  sick 
and  we  do  not  know  where  they  have  taken 
them;  a  man  came  and  rushed  them  off."  "What 
was  the  name  of  the  family  f  I  asked.  "Schwab," 
was  the  reply.  After  doing  all  I  could  for  these 
people,  I  made  enquiries  of  one  of  the  officials 
where  I  might  find  the  family  of  Schwab  who 
had  a  sick  child.  I  Avas  told  the  girl  was  in  the 
hospital,  suffering  from  spinal  meningitis,  and 
the  parents  were  in  the  detention  quarters.  I 
decided  to  go  and  see  the  parents. 

On  my  arrival  at  the  detention  quarters  the 
matron  showed  me  into  the  room  occupied  by 
the  family  for  which  I  was  searching.  I  was 
greeted  with  the  salutation,  "Praise  be  to  Jesus" 
in  German.  The  parents'  eyes  filled  with  tears 
on  seeing  a  Sister.  Here  they  were,  no  home,  no 
money,  no  country,  put  behind  bars  without  even 
committing  any  crime,  and  with  the  added  suffer- 
ing of  separation  from  their  sick  child.  They 
told  me  the  last  they  had  seen  of  her  she  was 
being  rolled  in  a  blanket  and  driven  off  in  an 
ambulance. 

After  speaking  to  them  for  a  few  moments 
I  found  out  that  they  were  Catholics.  I  im- 
mediately phoned  the  chaplain  of  the  hospital  and 
told  him  the  girl  was  a  Catholic  (he  had  al- 
ready baptized  her  conditionally).  I  then  spoke 
to  the  parents  of  the  child  and  they  told  me 
she  was  twelve  years  old,  able  to  read  and  Avvite 
German  and  Czech,  and  also  spoke  a  little  Eng- 
lish.   Her  sickness  had  started  with  a  cold;  then 


she  took  nose  bleeds,  gradually  becoming  worse 
until  she  lost  her  speech. 

In  the  afternoon  these  poor  people  wanted 
to  go  and  see  Bertha  at  the  hospital,  but  on 
account  of  the  presence  of  the  King  and  Queen 
in  the  city,  traffic  had  been  halted  and  they  would 
be  unable  to  get  through.  However,  they  went 
in  the  evening,  and  came  back  very  cheerful  and 
hopeful  that  Bertha  would  live  as  she  had 
smiled  at  them.  We  visited  these  people  every 
day  during  their  stay  and  they  looked  forward  to 
these  visits. 

One  morning  the  phone  rang.  The  message 
was  to  tell  the  Sisters  that  Bertha  had  died 
during  the  night,  and  would  one  of  the  Sisters 
break  the  news  to  the  parents?  I  did  not  know 
what  to  do  or  how  to  tell  them.  Then  I  thought 
of  the  German  priest  who  would  surely  be  able 
to  give  the  sad  news  much  better  than  I  could. 
I  telephoned  him  and  explained  everything.  He 
was  very  much  in  sympathy  with  the  family, 
but  would  not  be  able  to  come  until  the  after- 
noon. My  heart  sank  —  I  would  have  to  do  it 
myself.  I  said  a  fervent  prayer  and  set  off 
on  my  sad  errand. 

On  my  arrival  at  the  detention  quarters  I  met 
the  parents  on  their  way  to  lunch.  They  smiled 
and  greeted  me  very  warmly.  I  told  them  to 
go  ahead  and  have  their  lunch  and  that  I  would 
wait  for  them.  In  the  meantime  the  German 
priest  arrived,  and  I  was  greatly  relieved.  When 
the  parents  came  back  they  were  very  anxious  to 
know  what  news  Ave  had  of  Bertha.  I  Avaited  out- 
side Avhije  Father  told  them.  "Thy  Will  be 
done,"  Avas  the  reply  of  these  good  Catholic 
people. 

Arrangements  Avere  made  for  the  funeral, 
which  Avas  to  be  held  the  next  day.  Father  ex- 
plained to  the  father  and  mother  that  if  God 
had  not  taken  the  child  she  would  probably 
ha\re  been  a  cripple  for  life.  The  parents  un- 
derstood this. 

The  next  morning  the  car  called  at  the  de- 
tention quarters  for  them  and  took  them  to  the 
church.  The  little  Avhite  coffin  Avas  in  front  of 
the  altar  and  the  parents  knelt  down  beside  it. 
Requiem  Mass  Avas  sung.  The  only  mourners 
Avere  a  couple  of  railway  officials,  a  steamship  offi- 
cial, and  myself.  After  the  "Libera"  the  little 
casket  Avas  opened  that  the  parents  might  look 
on  the  face  of  their  little  one  for  the  last  time. 
Their  sobs  could  be  heard  all  through  the  church. 
Everyone  present  Avas  on  the  verge  of  tears. 

The  parents  folloAved  the  hearse  to  the  cem- 
etery Avhere  the  body  Avas  consigned  to  its  final 
resting  place.    The  father  Avas  very  sad  because 


THE  GREATEST   HETjP   TO   OVERCOMING    MISTAKES  IS  TO  ACKNOWLEDGE  THEM. 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


there  was  no  cross  to  put  on  the  grave,  bnt  only 
a  little  piece  of  wood  with  the  grave  number. 
However,  he  is  a  stone  mason  by  trade  and 
hoped  that  some  day  when  he  has  a  little  money 
to  buy  the  material  he  will  be  able  to  make  a 
little  cross  and  send  it  to  Montreal  to  be  put 
on  the  grave. 

After  the  funeral  they  returned  to  the  de- 
tention quarters,  got  their  few  belongings  to- 
gether and  left  for  the  station  to  await  the  train 
on  which  they  would  leave  for  their  new  home  in 
the  West.  They  offered  me  Bertha's  clothes  for 
some  little  girl,  but  I  explained  that  it  would  be 
better  to  burn  them  as  her  illness  had  been  con- 
tagious. 

"We  saw  them  safely  on  the  train  and  have 
had  several  letters  from  them  since.  They  are 
very  happy  in  Canada.  True,  they  haven't  any 
money,  but  they  have  freedom  to  practise  their 
Faith  and  this  is  their  great  consolation.  S.O.S. 


"OF  SUCH  IS  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN" 

Donald  was  a  comely  ten-year-old  lad,  the 
eldest  child  of  a  family  of  five.  For  days  he 
had  been  looking  forward  to  attending  the  cate- 
chism class  with  his  brother  and  sister  to  pre- 
pare himself  for  his  first  Holy  Communion.  But 
on  Saturday  he  did  not  feel  so  well,  and  on  Mon- 
day when  the  other  children  were  coming  in  to 
vacation  school,  he  Avas  brought  to  the  hospital. 

From  the  first,  the  doctor  had  no  hope,  but  at 
the  request  of  the  parents  performed  an  opera- 
tion, endeavouring  to  do  all  that  Avas  humanly 
possible  to  save  the  child's  life.  And  through  all 
those  days  of  suffering,  Donald's  brave  spirit  and 
marvellous  endurance  edified  all  Avho  saAv  him. 
For  fourteen  days  he  lay  on  a  bed  of  pain,  Avith 
never  a  complaint. 

When  the  end  Avas  near,  Father  prepared 
him  for  death,  and  there  in  the  hospital  Avard  the 
dear  little  lad  received  for  the  first  time  his  Lord 
and  his  God.  All  present  Avere  struck  by  the  re- 
collection and  deA'otion  of  the  boy,  and  the  room 
seemed  filled  Avith  a  holy  joy,  as  if  angels  Avere 
hovering  near.  Sister  asked  him  Avho  he  Avas 
going  to  see  when  he  AArent  to  heaven,  and  he  re- 
plied: "Little  God."  One  felt  he  could  not  go 
quickly  enough.  He  was  leaving  a  good  home, 
loving  brothers  and  sisters,  without  any  regret. 
The  love  of  God  had  taken  possession  of  him  and 
this  Avorld  had  no  attraction. 

When  all  Avas  over  Ave  came  aAvay  thanking 
God  for  the  privilege  of  witnessing  such  a  holy 
death. 

On  Sunday  when  the  other  little  ones  re- 
eeiA^ed  their  first  Holy  Communion  there  was  one 
missing  from  their  ranks,  but  I  am  sure  Donald 
Avas  beside  them,  seeing,  but  unseen,  praising  God 
for  having  called  him  to  a  happier  world. 


ONE  OF  CHRIST'S  LAMBS. 

Little  Mary  Avas  admitted  to  our  Edson  hospi- 
tal in  a  very  critical  condition.  An  operation  was 
performed  and  for  a  time  there  Avas  slight  hope 
of  her  recovery.  She  Avas  very  pale  and  thin 
and  suffered  greatly.  HoAvever,  she  Avas  placed 
under  the  special  care  of  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual 
Help,  and  she  gradually  improved.  At  present 
she  is  looking  better,  and  there  is  every  indi- 
cation that  she  will  soon  be  quite  well. 

We  learned  that  Mary  Avas  a  baptized  Catholic, 
as  also  AArere  her  sisters  and  brothers.  Her  father 
is  a  Catholic,  the  mother  is  a  non-Catholic,  but 
they  Avere  married  by  a  priest.  The  parents  never 
go  to  church,  and  the  children  have  never  been 
instructed  in  religion.  Little  Mary  seemed  never 
to  have  even  heard  of  God. 

We  spoke  to  the  father  and  he  Avillingly  gave 
his  consent  to  having  the  children  instructed.  So 
the  names  of  the  older  children  have  been  sent 
to  the  catechetical  house  in  Edmonton.  Wee  Mary 
is  being  instructed  by  the  Sisters  during  her  stay 
at  the  hospital.  She  is  a  bright,  lovable  child, 
and  gives  much  entertainment  by  her  quaint 
sayings.  She  loves  the  story  of  Christmas  and 
said  she  would  have  kept  right  on  looking  at 
the  bright  light  that  so  frightened  the  shep- 
herds. 

One  evening  she  was  taken  to  Benediction  in 
the  chapel.  She  sat  very  still,  taking  in  every- 
thing. She  Avas  very  puzzled  as  to  Avhat  made 
the  music  and  told  us  aftenvards  it  Avas  the  angels 
Avho  sang  (quite  a  compliment  to  the  S.O.S. 
choir). 

She  is  learning  the  "Our  Father"  and  seems 
to  like  it  better  than  the  "Hail  Mary."  But  what 
a  discussion  Avas  evoked  by  the  petition:  "Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread."  That  particular 
lesson  ended  Avith  a  complete  recipe  for  making 
bread. 

One  of  the  Sisters,  when  speaking  to  her  of 
the  Love  of  God  for  us  and  hoAv  Ave  should  love 
Him  in  return,  asked  her  if  she  ever  told  God 
that  she  loved  Him. 

"I'm  never  there,"  said  Mary. 

"Where?"  queried  Sister. 

"Where  God  is — up  in  heaven." 

And  then,  of  course,  Sister  explained  to  her 
that  God  is  everyAvhere  and  very  close  to  every- 
one. 

Watching  the  doctor  on  his  daily  rounds,  Mary 
reached  the  conclusion  that  he  must  be  almost 
like  God  because,  as  she  said,  he  can  help  and 
cure  the  sick.  When  Sister  told  her  it  Avas  God 
who  helped  the  doctor  to  do  all  these  things,  the 
dear  child  exclaimed  heartily:  "0  God,  I  loves 
You." 

When  she  returns  home  Ave  think  she  will  be 
a  real  little  "reformer,"  for  she  has  very  decided 
ideas  as  to  Avho  should  go  to  heaven  or  hell. 


AN  ORDINARY  MAN  IN  TOUCH  WITH  GOD  CAN  DO  EXTRAORDINARY  THINGS. 


12 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


APRIL,  1940 


Notes  of  Interest  from  Regina  Mission 

Where  There's  a  Will. 

The  following  letter  gives  proof  that  when 
gratitude  is  in  the  heart  it  will  always  find  a  way 
of  expressing  itself : 

Dear  Sisters: 

We  are  very  sorry  that  to  this  time  we  were  un- 
able to  give  you  any  help  or  donation  for  the  kind 
assistance  you  are  giving  us  in  studying  our  cate- 
chism lessons,  which  we  are  so  thankful  for  receiving. 
Because  we  depend  alone  on  the  relief  that  we  are 
getting.  But  now  we  are  sending  you  two  quilts  as  a 
small  donation.  Perhaps  later  on  we  may  be  able 
to  give  you  something  more.    May  God  bless  you! 

Your  sincere  friends. 

Missionaries  by  Mail. 

The  letters  below  are  samples  picked  at  ran- 
dom from  the  Regina  mail  bag.  They  clearly 
demonstrate  the  excellent  work  being  done  by 
zealous  "re-mailers"  who  are  taking  part  in  the 
grand  work  of  spreading  good  Catholic  litera- 
ture. 

Dear  Sisters: 

It  has  given  me  great  pleasure  to  send  papers  and 
magazines  to  my  "family"  out  West. 

Every  week  I  send  the  "Catholic  Register"  after 
I  have  read  it  and  I  also  occasionally  send  the  "Catho- 
lic Digest"  and  the  "Annals  of  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith"  and  many  pamphlets  and  booklets  of  the  Catho- 
lic Truth  Society. 

Enclosed  please  find  a  small  sum  to  help  you  in 
your  work  for  the  children.  Every  day  a  Pater, 
Ave  and  Gloria  are  added  to  my  morning  prayers  for 
you  and  your  work.  Sincerely. 

Dear  Sisters: 

Please  find  enclosed  the  "Remailers"  form  for 
1940.  All  these  eighteen  families  are  subscribers 
either  to  the  Annals  of  Ste.  Anne  or  the  "Canadian 
Messenger  of  the  Sacred  Heart"  for  a  year  beginning 
December,  1939. 

The  French  families  will  receive  the  Catholic 
magazine  "La  Ste.  Croisade"  for  a  year  beginning 
March,  1940. 

Please  send  me  ten  more  names  of  families  as  soon 
as  possible.  Respectfully  yours. 

#    *  # 

A  Prize  Winner. 

We  think  our  readers  will  enjoy  the  naive 
manner  in  which  this  little  girl  says  "Thank 
you"  for  the  contest  prize  awarded  to  her  re- 
cently. 

Dear  Sisters: 

I  received  the  prize  which  you  sent  for  the  colour- 
ing contest.  I  am  very  pleased  with  it,  for  it  shall 
be  a  remembrance  of  you  as  long  as  I  live.  I  am 
now  thanking  you  for  it.  I  didn't  expect  to  win  any- 
thing for  this  is  the  first  time  I  ever  got  a  prize 
in  a  colouring  contest,  or  any  other  contest.  But  I 
sure  was  surprised  when  the  mail  came  and  there 
was  a  little  parcel  addressed  to  me.  At  first  I 
couldn't  think  for  what  I  was  rewarded,  but  I  soon 
found  out.  Once  more  I  will  thank  you  for  it  and 
for  your  service  throughout  the  year.  Well,  I  will 
now  have  to  close.  Yours  faithfully. 


Appreciation. 

In  the  letter  printed  below,  one  of  our  young 
correspondents  has  tried  to  express  her  gratitude 
for  the  lessons  in  religion  she  is  receiving : 

Dear  Sisters: 

I  was  very  glad  when  I  saw  that  you  have  sent 
some  lessons  again.  Last  time  I  was  sick  in  bed 
when  they  reached  me,  so  I  couldn't  answer  them. 
This  time  we  were  just  moving  and  the  papers  were 
put  somewhere.  I  can't  find  them  now.  Will  you 
please  send  me  the  next  papers  and  I  will  try  to 
keep  up  answering  them. 

I  just  love  catechism  lessons.  I  used  to  live  in 
Roumania.  I  came  to  Canada  two  years  ago.  There 
we  had  every  second  day  catechism  lesson  at  school. 
We  also  went  to  church  every  day  before  school  time. 
It  was  so  different  when  I  came  here — no  church  in 
town.  There  all  were  Catholics  and  here  are  nearly 
all  Baptists.  Yours  sincerely. 

#    #  * 

Family  Converted. 

.  .  The  following  letter  is  from  a  priest,  telling 
the  happy  result  of  instruction  by  mail  of  a  non- 
Catholic  family  in  his  parish : 

Rev.  and  dear  Sisters: 

Thank  you  for  your  letter  re  the  M.  family.  I 
was  there  to  see  them  and  found  them  very  thorough- 
ly instructed;  in  fact,  Mrs.  M.,  who  is  a  former  High 
School  graduate,  has  made  quite  an  exceptional  study. 
I  received  them  into  the  Church  and  they  made  their 
First  Holy  Communion  all  together,  in  their  own 
home,  where  we  had  Mass  on  July  21st.  It  would 
be  well,  of  course,  if  you  could  mail  them  some 
Catholic  literature  from  time  to  time.  I  thank  you 
very  much  for  the  interest  you  have  taken  in  this 
case  and  the  good  result  of  your  work.  May  God 
bless  you  in  all  your  endeavours! 

Sincerely  and  gratefully  yours. 


CAMPING  FOR  GOD. 

(Continued  from  page  9) 

was  collected  from  every  available  quarter  and 
deposited  in  a  huge  heap.  Then,  at  a  stated  time, 
this  pile  was  lighted— to  the  great  delight  of  the 
children.  As  the  crackling  flames  mounted  sky- 
ward, loud  cheering  began — then  followed  Indian 
war  dances,  songs,  recitations,  and  last  but  not 
least,  a  "marshmallow  roast"  accompanied  by 
lemonade,  cakes  and  even  home-made  candy.  The 
fact  that  this  was  all  a  surprise  to  the  children 
seemed  but  to  make  their  enjoyment  of  it  the 
greater.  "Three  cheers"  were  given  for  their 
zealous  Pastor,  who  had  made  this  two  weeks' 
outing  possible.  Regret  Avas  expressed  every- 
where that  "camp"  was  at  an  end. 

S.O.S. 


CHOIRS  PLEASE  NOTE. 

In  our  catechetical  mail  we  recently  came 
across  this  quotation:  "There  will  he  joy  in 
heaven  over  one  singer  doing  penance. 


THERE  ARE  TIMES  WHEN  NOTHING  WE  CAN  SAY  IS  NEARLY  SO  POWERFUL  AS  SAYING  NOTHING. 


APRIL,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


13 


MORE  NEWS  FROM  FARGO 


(We  print  the  following  letter,  just  re- 
ceived from  our  Sisters  in  Fargo,  feeling 
sure  that  our  readers  will  enjoy  reading  of 
the  work  in  this  newest  branch  of  S.O.S. 
activity). 
Dear  Sister : 

You  are  awaiting  with  interest,  Ave  know, 
more  news  from  Fargo.  Our  last  contribu- 
tion described  the  beginning  of  our  work 
and  ended  with  an  account  of  the  first  Mass 
celebrated  in  our  chapel.  Since  then  we 
have  been  working  in  co-operation  with  the 
Legion  of  Mary,  two  Praesidia  of  which 
have  been  organized  in  the  city.  During 
the  week-ends  of  November  and  December 
we  were  given  the  pleasant  task  of  visiting 
several  of  the  rural  parishes  for  the  pur- 
pose of  speaking  on  the  work  of  the  Sisters 
of  Service,  as  well  as  on  the  Legion  of  Mary. 
We  were  very  kindly  received  by  priests 
and  people  in  each  parish,  and  the  mem- 
ory of  our  visits  adds  to  the  growing 
conviction  that  the  Diocese  of  Fargo  is  making 
its  way  into  our  hearts. 

Happy  Christmas! 

Our  Christmas  here  was  a  very  happy  one. 
Gifts  and  greetings  in  abundance  were  showered 
upon  us  and,  best  of  all,  on  Christinas  Day  we 
had  three  Masses  in  our  own  little  chapel.  The 
good  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  invited  us  to  the  Hos- 
pital for  Christmas  dinner,  and  on  the  following 
day  we  were  privileged  to  have  His  Excellency 
say  Mass  for  us.  AVe  had  a  lovely  little  Crib  in 
the  chapel.  After  the  "Coming  of  the  Three  Wise 
Men"  we  reluctantly  packed  it  away  until  next 
year. 

New  Mission  Centre. 

What  you  will  find  most  interesting,  we  are 
sure,  is  our  Avork  at  the  Catholic  Mission  Centre. 
The  Centre  consists  of  two  little  rooms,  or  rather 
one  room  partitioned,  in  the  basement  of  one  of 
the  rooming  houses  on  Lower  Front  Street.  You 
Avill  want  to  knoAv  all  tbout  this  "Centre" — its 
beginning,  growth,  etc.   Here  is  the  story: 

Census  Taking. 

The  task  of  taking  the  census  of  the  parish 
was  assigned  by  the  pastor  to  the  recently  or- 
ganized Legion  of  Mary.  These  girls  were  zealous 
Avorkers,  but  having  had  little  experience  in  this 
line  of  work  they  Avere  someAvhat  timid  and 
asked  us  to  help  them  get  started.    The  thought 


Catholic  Mission  Centre,  Fargo 

that  Ave  might  not  be  altogether  too  brave  our- 
selves did  not  enter  into  their  calculations,  so 
rather  than  discourage  them  we  promised  to  do 
our  bit. 

Team  Work. 

Detailed  plans  Avere  made.  A  map  of  the 
city  Avas  diA'ided  into  sections,  and  Sections  1 
and.  2,  a  sort  of  "No  Man's  Land"  between  the 
two  parishes,  Avas  chosen  as  the  starting  point. 
Eight  Legionaries  volunteered  for  this  work. 
It  Avas  decided  that  they  work  in  pairs,  so  four 
teams  Avere  chosen.  On  the  day  appointed  Team 
No.  1  met  tAvo  Sisters  at  a  certain  point  at  2  p.m. 
These  four  formed  two  new  teams,  each  consist- 
ing of  a  Sister  and  a  Legionary.  For  Front 
Street  the  Day  of  Visitation  had  come ! 

Every  home  Avas  visited,  regardless  of  colour 
or  creed,  and  there  was  a  variety  of  both !  After 
the  space  of  half  an  hour,  when  the  "Legionary 
in  training"  felt  capable  of  continuing  Avithout 
the  assistance  of  a  Sister,  Team  No.  1  came  to- 
gether again  and  the  Sisters  returned  to  the 
starting  point  to  meet  Team  No.  2.  This  was 
continued  until  each  of  the  eight  Avorkers  had 
had  half  an  hour  Avith  one  of  the  Sisters.  By  this 
time  the  day  Avas  far  spent,  but  the  girls  Avere  so 
enthused  Avith  their  work  that  it  Avas  almost 
impossible  to  persuade  them  to  call  a  halt.  Each 
week  following  these  girls  spent  every  moment 
of  their  spare  time  in  this  district.  While  they 
Avere  doing  this  Ave  moved  on  to  the  other  end  of 
the  parish  and  began  census  taking  there. 


IT  IS  NOT  WHAT  WE  TAKE  UP,  BUT  WHAT  WE  GIVE  UP,  THAT  MAKES  US  RICH. 


14 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


APRIL,  1940 


Children  Gathered  for  Instruction. 

When  the  Legionaries  turned  in  their  reports 
they  themselves  were  amazed  at  the  discoveries 
made.  Many  Catholics  were  found  who  had 
drifted  away  and  were  awaiting  only  a  helping 
hand  to  bring  them  back  to  the  Church;  many 
children,  also,  who  should  be  attending  our  paro- 
chial schools.  Follow-up  calls  were  made  and 
it  was  decided  that  something  had  to  be  done  im- 
mediately. After  some  difficulty  Father  was  able  to 
procure  the  room  previously  mentioned,  and  the 
children  were  invited  to  come  for  instruction  on 
Saturday  afternoon.  The  first  day  there  were 
eight  present.  This  did  not  please  the  Legion- 
aries. The  following  Saturday  there  were  down 
early  before  the  "movies"  started.  They  called 
for  the  children,  helped  them  to  get  ready  and 
escorted  them  over  to  our  little  class  room.  The 
first  day  we  had  only  two  long  benches  and  a 
blackboard.  The  second  day  the  walls  had  been 
whitewashed  and  we  had  four  card  tables  and 
some  folding  chairs.  With  the  Legionaries  out 
combing  the  district  our  attendance  grew  rapidly. 
In  a  short  time  we  had  thirty-three  children  and 
found  it  necessary  to  divide  them  into  two  groups. 
Father  had  two  long  tables  made  for  us,  which 
the  Legionaries  covered  with  linoleum.  Gradual- 
ly we  acquired  another  blackboard,  some  pic- 
tures, catechism  charts  and  last,  but  not  least,  an 
organ.  One  of  the  firms  of  the  city  was  kind 
enough  to  supply  us  with  a  quantity  of  paper, 
pencils,  rulers,  etc.,  so  that  now  we  have  nearly 
all  the  necessary  equipment.  A  large  number  of 
our  little  ones  have  not  yet  been  baptized,  and 
before  the  opening  of  the  Centre  they  were  all 
attending  a  non-Catholic  mission. 

Refreshments  Popular. 

After  the  lesson  we  always  serve  cocoa  and 
sandwiches.  That  they  enjoy  this  part  of  the 
programme  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  after  they 
have  had  as  many  sandwiches  as  any  child  can  hu- 
manly hold,  they  come  and  ask  if  they  may  take 
the  rest  home  to  mama  and  daddy.  Little  K., 
who  has  to  miss  class  some  days  in  order  to  sell 
his  papers,  always  drops  in  for  his  cocoa. 

Musical  Training. 

Reverend  Father  Norbert  Gertken,  O.S.B.,  of 
Collegeville,  Minnesota,  who  is  in  the  city  teach- 
ing Gregorian  Chant,  has  taken  an  interest  in  the 
work.  He  came  down  last  Saturday,  taught  the 
little  ones  some  hymns  and  promised  to  come 
each  Saturday  while  he  is  in  the  city. 

Adult  Instruction. 

This  Centre  is  also  being  used  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  adults.    Father  takes  this  class  himself 


every  Wednesday  evening.  We  were  down  this 
evening  and  noted  that  there  were  thirty-six 
present.  The  greater  number  of  these  are  Ca- 
tholics who  have  been  neglecting  the  practice 
of  their  religion.  Many,  too,  are  non-Catholics,  for 
the  Catholic  wife  brings  her  non-Catholic  hus- 
band and  vice  versa.  One  young  couple  brought 
their  baby  along  this  evening,  and  the  Legionaries 
cared  for  him  while  his  parents  attended  the  in- 
struction. We  also  noted  there  were  several 
younger  boys  and  girls  among  the  crowd. 

Father  began  his  instruction  by  teaching  his 
class  two  hymns — one  in  honour  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  and  the  other  in  honour  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin.  In  teaching  these  Father  explained  the 
devotion  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament  and  to  Our 
Lady.  He  then  gave  them  an  instruction  on  the 
Life  of  Christ.  It  was  really  wonderful  to  watch 
those  people  sitting  there,  listening  so  attentively. 
To  many  it  was  a  return  of  something  cherished 
which  they  had  lost,  to  others  a  longing  satisfied, 
and  to  all  a  feeling  of  peace  and  happiness,  know- 
ing that  there  is  someone  who  takes  an  interest 
in  them  and  their  welfare.  After  the  instruction 
coffee  and  sandwiches  were  served.  Soon  we 
hope  to  establish  this  Centre  more  permanently 
and  then  wholesome  social  activities  can  be  pro- 
vided for  those  people  who  have  been  for  so  long 
forgotten  and  neglected. 

This  group  of  Legionaries  in  Fargo  is  the 
first  in  America  to  establish  a  Centre  of  this  kind. 
We  feel  it  a  great  privilege  to  have  been  able 
to  help  in  the  work,  and  pray  that  it  will  con- 
tinue to  grow  as  rapidly  as  it  has  done  in  the  last 
few  months. 

Looking  to  the  Future. 

As  Spring  comes  round  the  corner  we,  as  rov- 
ing missionaries  will,  are  casting  longing  glances 
towards  the  wide  open  prairies.  We  hope  to  do 
some  work  in  the  rural  areas  this  summer,  and 
then  we  shall  be  able  to  tell  you  more  of  our 
great  State  and  the  opportunities  it  has  for  the 
advancement  of  the  work  of  the  S.O.S.  in  their 
quest  for  souls.  S.O.S. 


I  would  rather  risk  sending  a  sinner  to  Pur- 
gatory through  excessive  kindness,  than  to  risk 
driving  him  to  hell  through  excessive  severity. 


Our  strength  often  increases  in  proportion  to 
the  obstacles  imposed  upon  it. 


"Sorrow  built  a  bridge  for  me  into  infinity. 
It  often  does.  One  has  to  accept  sorrow  for  it  to 
be  a  healing  power." — Maurice  Baring. 


Worry  is  interest  paid  on  trouble  before  it 
becomes  due. 


SHELLS  AVE  FIND  ON  THE  BEACH;  FOR  PEARLS  WE  MUST  DIVE. 


APRIL,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


15 


(Uk-*<'-'"»-  «"<iw 


VOCATIONS 


WHICH  SHALL  IT  BE? 


Shall  I  Listen  to 
THE  DECEITFUL  LURE  OF  THE  WORLD? 

Come,  join  my  ranks!  Look  at  my  fair  banner! 
Read  those  attractive  words:  RICHES,  PLEA- 
SURE, LIBERTY!  Love  me  and  my  spirit.  I 
will  make  your  life  one  round  of  happiness.  Take 
your  rest,  drink  and  make  good  cheer.  (But  the 
wisdom  of  this  world  has  ever  been  folly  with 
Christ) . 

Shall  I  Pursue 
RICHES  WITH  THE  WORLD? 

Wordlings  cry  out:  "It's  money  that  counts." 
Riches  mean  power,  a  good  time,  pleasure  of  every 
description,  comforts,  esteem,  friends — than 
which  there  is  nothing  better.  (But  God's  word 
assures  you :  '  'They  that  will  become  rich  .  .  .  fall 
into  the  snare  of  the  devil.") 

Shall  I  Join 
THE  RANKS  OF  THE  MARRIED? 

My  heart  longs  for  love.  My  nature  inclines  me 
to  seek  marriage ;  in  it  I  shall  find  pleasure,  con- 
stant companionship,  a  home,  perhaps  a  family. 
God's  Church  assures  me  that  it  is  a  holy  state. 
(And  yet  St.  Paul  says  to  the  unmarried  that  it  is 
good  if  they  so  continue.  There  are  numerous 
unhappy  unions). 

Shall  I  Enjoy 
MY  LIBERTY  WITH  WORLDLINGS? 

Think,  speak,  act  as  you  please !  0  what  a  boon 
is  liberty !  Away  then  with  restraint,  mortifica- 
tion, self-denial !  Indulge  your  appetites,  give 
them  free  rein.  They  are  slaves  who  surrender 
their  free  will.  (But  Holy  Scripture  says: 
"Where  the  Spirit  of  God  is,  there  is  liberty"  ;  and 
the  so-called  liberty  of  the  world  is  often  real 
slavery). 


Shall  I  Follow 
THE  LOVING  INVITATION  OF  CHRIST? 

My  child,  give  me  your  heart,  for  I  am  your 
Way,  Truth  and  Life.  My  yoke  is  light  indeed ; 
my  burden  sweet.  Enlist  under  my  standard  on 
which  are  engraven  the  words :  POVERTY, 
CHASTITY,  OBEDIENCE.  0,  the  harvest  is 
great,  but  my  labourers  few.  I  have  need  of 
you.  Come,  let  me  make  you  a  fisher  of  men ! 

Shall  I  Be 
POOR  WITH  CHRIST? 

Jesus  says :  '  'If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go,  sell  what 
thou  hast,  and  come,  follow  Me."  The  foxes  have 
holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air,  nests,  but  the  Son 
of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  His  Head."  "The 
bare  manger  received  me  at  birth,  and  the  cold 
arms  of  the  Cross  held  Me  in  death." 

Shall  I  Practice 
CHASTITY  WITH  CHRIST? 

The  fair  lily  of  Chastity  was  most  dear  to  the 
Heart  of  Christ.  "0  how  beautiful,"  exclaims 
the  Holy  Spirit,  "is  the  chaste  generation  with 
glory."  In  all  ages  thousands  of  virgins,  attract- 
ed by  the  love  of  Christ,  have  cheerfully  renounc- 
ed all  shortlived  earthly  affections  to  consecrate 
their  hearts  to  an  Eternal  Lover. 

Shall  I  Surrender. 
MY  LIBERTY  WITH  CHRIST? 

Jesus  became  obedient  unto  death.  "My  food," 
He  says,  "is  to  do  the  Will  of  Him  that  sent  me." 
"The  obedient  man  shall  speak  of  victory."  The 
surrender  of  one's  own  will  to  Christ  is  the  great- 
est and  most  meritorious  of  all  sacrifices.  Reli- 
gious enjoy  the  true  "liberty  of  the  glory  of 
the  children  of  Cod." 


OUR  CHARACTER  IS  OUR  WILL,,  FOR  WHAT  WE  WELL,  WE  ARE. 


16 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


APRIL,  1940 


MARIAN  CRUSADERS 


Dear  Crusaders : 

Did  you  ever  realize 
that  God  is  calling  each 
one  of  you  to  be  a  mis- 
sionary? It  is  true 
that  the  majority  of 
you  will  not  have  the 
opportunity  to  be  ac- 
tual  m  o  n  e 
\  preaching  the  gospel  to 

\  the    heathen    like  St. 

■  \  Francis  Xavier,  baptiz- 

n        ing  babies  and  teach- 
V  ing  people  to  know  and 

love  God,  as  many  of 
flfeta*  our  brave  priests  and 

Attention,  Young  People!     Sisters  are  doing  this 

very    day    in  pagan 
lands.     How,  then,  can  you  be  a  missionary  ? 

First,  we  must  understand  that  a  missionary 
is  one  who  devotes  his  whole  soul  to  the  salva- 
tion of  others  for  the  love  of  God.  It  isn't  so 
much  what  one  does  as  what  one  is.  If  you 
have  the  soul  of  a  missionary,  you  are  a  mis- 
sionary, no  matter  where  you  are  or  what  you 
are  doing. 

Now  let  us  consider  three  ways  in  which  one 
may  become  a  missionary :  by  prayer,  by  suffer- 
ing, and  by  active  service.  That  is  why  I  say 
God  calls  each  Crusader  to  be  a  missionary,  for 
one  of  these  three  ways  is  surely  open  to  all — 
even  the  poorest  and  the  weakest.  As  yet  you 
are  too  young  to  be  travelling  off  to  Africa  or 
China,  or  even  to  our  own  Canadian  mission 
fields,  but  don't  think  for  a  moment  that  this 
excuses  you  from  being  one  of  God's  missionaries. 
You  can  all  pray,  and  you  can  all  suffer,  in  one 
way  or  another.  And  if  your  prayers  and  suf- 
ferings are  offered  for  souls — because  you  love 
God  and  want  others  to  love  Him — then  it  is 
quite  possible  you  are  doing  as  much  to  win  the 
world  for  Christ  our  King  as  though  you  were 
actually  baptizing  and  instructing  the  heathen. 

Another  thought.  There  is  a  way  in  which 
you  can  all  be  active  missionaries,  no  matter 
how  young  you  are.  You  are  not  hermits,  liv- 
ing alone.  You  all  have  contacts  with  others, 
and  by  your  good  example  you  can  show  how 
grand  a  thing  it  is  to  have  the  love  of  God  in 
your  heart.  Let  this  love  be  a  fire  of  charity 
and  cheerfulness  that  by  its  kindly  warmth  will 
attract  those  around  you  to  that  burning  furnace 
of  Divine  Love — the  Heai't  of  Jesus. 

So — in  one  way  or  another — be  missionaries. 
GOD  WILLS  IT !  THE  CAPTAIN,M.C. 


GOOD  SECURITY. 

"Mister,  do  you  lend  money  here?"  asked  an 
earnest  young  voice  at  the  office  door. 

The  lawyer  turned  away  from  his  desk,  con- 
fronted a  clear-eyed,  poorly  dressed  lad  of  seven 
years,  and  studied  him  keenly  for  a  minute. 
"Sometimes  we  do — on  good  security,"  he  said, 
gravely. 

The  little  fellow  explained  that  he  had  a 
chance  "to  buy  out  a  boy  that's  cryin'  papers." 
He  had  half  the  money  required,  but  he  needed 
to  borrow  the  other  fifteen  cents. 

"What  security  can  you  offer?"  asked  the 
lawyer. 

The  boy's  brown  hand  sought  his  pocket  and 
drew  out  a  paper  carefully  folded.  It  was  a 
cheaply  printed  pledge  against  the  use  of  intoxi- 
cating liquor. 

As  respectfully  as  though  it  had  been  the 
deed  to  a  farm  the  lawyer  examined  it,  accepted 
it,  and  handed  over  the  required  sum. 

A  friend  who  had  watched  the  transaction 
with  silent  amusement  laughed  as  the  young 
borrower  departed. 

"You  think  I  know  nothing  about  him?" 
smiled  the  lawyer.  "I  know  that  he  came  man- 
fully in  what  he  supposed  to  be  a  business  way 
and  tried  to  negotiate  a  loan,  instead  of  begging 
for  money.  I  know  that  he  has  been  under  good 
influence,  or  he  would  not  have  signed  that 
pledge,  and  that  he  does  not  hold  it  lightly,  or 
he  would  not  have  cared  for  it  so  carefully.  I 
agree  with  him  that  one  who  keeps  himself  from 
such  things  has  a  character  to  offer  as  security." 
— Exchange. 


LOSING  MONEY. 

Tommy— "Out  of  a  job?" 

Jimmy — -"Yes.  The  boss  said  he  was  losin' 
money  on  the  things  I  was  making." 

Tommy — "Wasn't  there  anything  else  you 
could  do  in  the  place  .  " 

"I  guess  not.  Anyhow,  he  said  I  didn't  seem 
to  be  able  to  do  anything  else." 

Tommy — "And  what  were  you  making?" 

Jimmy — '  'Mistakes." 


Woman  (on  telephone)  :  "I  sent  my  little  hoy 
to  your  store  for  two  pounds  of  plums  and  I 
got  only  a  pound  and  a  half.  Your  scales  must 
be  wrong." 

Fruit  Dealer:  "My  scales  are  all  right,  madam. 
Have  you  weighed  your  little  boy?" 


TO  BE  POPULAR  AT  HOME  IS  A  GREAT  ACHIEVEMENT. 


JULY,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


OTCftOLlC 


NftflONfli; 


EDITORIAL 


A  "Person  to  Person"  Call 


TELEPHONE  Companies  make  a  sharp  dis- 
tinction in  service  and  in  price  between  a 
"station  to  station"  call  and  a  "person  to 
person"  call.  The  latter  is  very  distinctive.  It 
will  not  be  placed  on  the  wires  if  the  party  you 
desire  to  speak  to  is  not  on  the  line. 

We  would  compare  our  messages  in  this  ma- 
gazine to  a  "station  to  station"  call.  They  are 
the  Church  of  the  West  "calling"  the  Church  of 
the  East.  It  is  the  old  cry  of  the  Macedonian 
"to  come  across"  .  .  the  Great  Lakes  and  help 
the  struggling  missions  of  the  Church  out  West. 
This  call,  we  must  admit,  often  goes  unheard. 
The  lines  are  so  busy.  Calls  from  everywhere 
come  to  you  and  absorb  your  attention.  Our  mod- 
ern life  makes  so  many  demands  that  one  won- 
ders at  times  to  which  we  should  respond.  The 
stress  of  the  war  has  added  increased  burdens 
to  our  already  tangled  existence.  Heavy  shall 
be  the  toll  on  life  and  income  before  the  final 
victory. 

This  is  a  "person  to  person"  call.  We  wish 
to  talk  to  you  individually  and  bring  to  you  a 
personal  message.  To  enlist  your  "personal"  in- 
terest and  kind  co-operation  in  our  missionary 
cause  is  our  present  ambition.  For,  we  must  ad- 
mit, that  often  when  a  message  of  this  kind  is 
broadcast  we  fail  to  listen  in.  Like  the  bored 
radio  listener  we  fumble  with  the  dial  to  find 
something  "more  interesting."  But,  tell  me,  is 
there  really  something  more  interesting  and  more 
vital?  Are  we  not  trying  to  keep  the  faith  among 
our  "own"  in  our  own  country?  If  that  faith 
means  anything  to  us — and  surely  it  means  much 


— it  is  important  that  we  also  should  do  our  share 
in  this  apostolate  of  the  Home  Mission  Field. 

We  are  timid  and  slow  when  the  enemies  of 
our  Faith  among  the  foreign  born  are  bold  and 
aggressive.  Philanthropic  and  patriotic  work  on 
their  part  is  often  the  spearhead  of  a  well-planned 
attack  on  the  faith  of  their  forefathers.  Surely, 
we  repeat  it,  you  love  your  faith  too  much  to 
see  others  despoiled  of  it  under  your  own  eyes, 
within  the  confines  of  your  own  land,  under  the 
very  protection  of  its  laws.  No,  no  .  .  this  you 
will  not  allow.  If  perhaps  in  the  past  you  were 
not  impressed  by  this  appeal,  is  it  not  just  be- 
cause it  did  not  come  home  to  you?  You  did  not 
feel  responsible  for  these  conditions.  But  you 
are  responsible  inasmuch  as  you  do  not  share  by 
your  prayers  and  your  alms  in  this  apostolate. 

How  we  should  like  to  be  able  to  pick  up  the 
telephone  and  speak  to  you  "personally"  of  what 
we  know,  of  what  we  have  seen  during  the  course 
of  those  many  years  we  have  laboured  for  our 
Western  missions !  We  think  that  we  could  per- 
suade you  to  come  to  our  aid. 


TO  TRY  IS  BETTER  THAN  THE  THING  YOU  TRY  FOR 


2 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


JULY,  1940 


Notes  and  Comments 


"OUT  TO  MEET  THE  GATHER- 
ING STORM" 

The  storm  of  war  lias  broken  over 
Europe.  The  hour  is  dark.  "On  the 
face  of  Europe,  Christian  in  all  its 
fundamental  lineaments,  the  sinister 
shadow  of  thoughts  and  deeds  of 
enemies  of  God,  casts  itself  closer 
and  more  threatening  every  day." 
(Pius  XII  to  the  Lithuanians.). 

Like  an  unleashed  tempest  the 
paganism  of  Russia  and  Germany 
has  whipped  the  waters  of  Europe 
into  angry  waves.  They  threaten 
to  engulf  the  ships  of  many  nations. 
Alone  the  ship  of  Peter  rides  those 
angry  waves  with  confidence  and 
security.  The  gates  of  hell  are  wide 
open  against  her;  but  she  has  the 
assurance  of  the  divine  promises 
that  they  will  not  prevail.  As  the 
Holy  Father  wrote  in  his  first  En- 
cyclical Letter  "She  is  sailing  out 
to  meet  the  gathering  storm." 

GENEROUS  BUT  FORGETFUL 

That  our  missionaries  are  not  re- 
ceiving the  backing  they  should  from 
the  Church  at  large  does  not  gener- 
ally depend  on  any  ill-will  on  the 
part  of  our  Catholic  people.  We  all 
love  Mother  Church.  We  all  desire 
to  see  her  line  of  battle  well  pro- 
tected and  well  supplied  with  fresh 
forces.  This  interest  is  born  of  our 
baptism.  But  .  .  .  we  forget.  And 
it  Is  because  "we  forget"  that  our 
missionaries  now  suffer  and  are  in 
dire  need. 

As  soon  as  any  good  work  can  be 
brought  home  to  our  people,  as  soon 
as  they  are  really  made  to  under- 
stand the  value  and  importance  of  a 
work,  they  rally  to  its  support  in  a 
most  astonishing  manner.  Our 
people  are  generous  but  "they  for- 

get-  Annals  of  Prop,  of  Faith. 

WHAT   MAKES   A   LARGE  GIFT 
TO  THE  MISSIONS? 

"A  large  gift  is  a  gift  which  calls 
for  sacrifice — whether  it  be  a  so- 
called  small  sum  or  a  large  sum. 
The  sacrifice  multiplies  many  times 
the  amount  of  the  gift  to  the  mis- 
sions.  (Bishop  Walsh,  Maryknoll). 

THE  VALUE  OF  PRAYER 

One  day  Cardinal  Manning  said  in 
a  conversation,  after  reading  on  one 
of  his  journeys  to  Rome  the  treatise 
of  St.  Alphonsus  "on  prayer." 
"Never  did  I  so  well  understand 
God's  economy  of  man's  salvation 
until  I  read  that  little  book." 


I 

i 


A  CHALLENGE 

To  any  one  who  has  faith,  five 
minutes  of  serious  meditation  on 
this  topic:  "You  are  the  'rich  young 
man.'  "  You  have  the  Faith  and  can 
pass  it  on.  You  can  share  your  rich- 
es,— divine  riches, — with  the  poorest 
of  God's  poor.  He  who  today  stands 
before  you  a  beggar  will  tomorrow 
stand  before  you  as  one  representing 
the  King  of  Glory.  Remember 
Christ's  promise  to  those  who  help 
the  poor:  "You  did  it  unto  Me."  For 
one  who  has  faith  there  is  nothing 
to  compare  with  the  opportunity  to 
take  Christ  by  the  hand  and  to  share 
what  we  have  with  Him  in  winning 
the  world  for  Him.  It  may  cost  you 
a  few  dollars  or  possibly  only  a  few 
cents  or  the  sacrifice  of  some  little 
comfort  or  enjoyment;  it  will  possi- 
bly cost  you  nothing  more  than  a  lit- 
tle thoughtfulness,  a  little  less  sel- 
fishness, a  bit  more  of  love.  You  are 
the  "rich  young  man." 

Again,  for  the  hard-hearted  busi- 
ness man.  There  is  no  other  possi- 
bility of  investment  that  can  com- 
pare with  that  which  we  make  witli 
Christ  the  King  and  Company.  For 
success  depends  not  on  the  prudence 
of  the  missionary  who  handles  your 
investment,  but  it  will  be  measured 
entirely  by  your  desire  to  associate 
yourself  with  the  Head  of  the  Firm. 
And  this  desire  is  measured,  in  turn, 
by  your  love  of  God  and  men.  So 
little  on  your  part  can  do  so  much, 
— in  the  hands  of  Christ  the  King 
and  Company.  A  momentary  sacri- 
fice can  become  an  eternal  treasure. 

(The  Shield). 

A  BEAUTIFUL  MOTTO 

In  his  message  on  being  appointed 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  Mgr. 
Francis  Spellman  used  these  strik- 
ing words: 

"For  my  part,  I  shall  give  all  and 
do  my  best.  I  shall  work  and  pray — 
pray  as  if  everything  depended  on 
God;  work  as  if  everything  depend- 
ed on  me." 

OUR  MISSION  CRUSADERS 

It  is  the  ideal  of  the  Catholic 
Students'  Mission  Crusade  that 
prayer,  study  and  sacrifice  for  the 
missions  should  be  a  part  of  stu- 
dent life  and  not  that  something  "ex- 
tra" for  which  there  is  so  little  time, 
so  that  mission  endeavor  will  be- 
come a  habit  of  thought  which 
every  Crusader  will  carry  over  into 
his  future  life. 

— The  Shield. 


BING  CROSBY  .  .  .  AND  THE 
MISSIONS 

Bing  Crosby,  the  famous  American 
crooner,  is  a  good  Catholic.  The  roy- 
alties from  one  of  his  records  go 
each  year  to  the  China  missions. 
All  the  stamps — they  run  into  thous- 
ands weekly — from  his  mail  are  also 
given  to  the  missions.  (Universe). 

SAINT  JOSEPH'S  PURSE 

Saint  Joseph  had  a  purse,  and  also 
a  code  of  God  about  it,  and  whether 
a  purse  be  small  or  capacious,  wheth- 
er it  be  of  workman  or  employer,  it 
is  a  perilous  piece  of  creation  to 
have  at  all  without  a  religious  clasp 
upon  it.  That  is,  if  one  has  a  great- 
er interest  in  what  follows  life  than 
in  what  fills  it.  Now  all  of  us  need 
to  lift  our  eyes  beyond  the  bills  and 
change  that  rustle  or  jingle  in  our 
pocketbooks.  And  if  there  is  no 
rustle,  if  there  is  not  even  a  jingle, 
then  all  the  more  do  we  need  to  look 
beyond.  I  do  not  doubt  that  Saint 
Joseph's  pocketbook  was  always 
slender,  and  even  sometimes  empty. 
If  so,  we  cannot  imagine  him  falling 
into  our  failures  to  recognize  that 
there  is  still  a  just,  merciful  and 
providential  God  to  love  and  care 
for  us.  And  when  it  was  full,  I  do 
not  doubt  that  it  was  often  opened 
to  relieve  the  distress  of  those  who 
wanted. 

—William  J.  McGarry,  S.J.,  in 
"America." 

OF  IMPORT  TO  WOMEN. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  apos- 
tolate  of  women  was  limited  to  the 
Christian  life  of  her  family  and 
home,  but  it  is  not  so  to-day.  The 
co-operation  of  women  in  the  diffu- 
sion and  defense  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  is  more  opportune  and  ne- 
cessary to-day  than  it  has  been 
at  any  time  in  the  past,"  observed 
the  Holy  Father  in  the  course  of 
an  audience  granted  to  the  dele- 
gates of  the  Tenth  International 
Congress  of  \A  omen's  Catholic  Ac- 
tion held  in  Rome  in  the  spring. — 
(Cath.  Women's  Union  Bulletin/. 

MATT.  TALBOT. 

Matt.  Talbot,  the  saintly  work- 
ingman  of  modern  Ireland,  had  the 
soul  of  a  missionary.  Out  of  his 
scanty  wages  he  paid  for  the  edu- 
cation of  three  priests  and  was 
paying  for  a  fourth  when  death 
came.  What  an  example!  it  goes 
to  prove  what  one  can  do  for  the 
Church  even  out  of  the  most  slender 
resources.  To  levy  systematically 
a  small  sum  of  our  earnings  has 
a  wonderful  cumulative  effect.  The 
missionary  works  of  the  Church 
rest  more  on  the  sacrifices  of  the 
poor  than  on  the  munificent  gifts 
of  the  rich. 


TO  HOPE  IS  HIGHER  THAN  THE  HEIGHTS  ATTAINED 


JULY,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


3 


FALSE  IMPRESSION 

Legacies  to  Catholic  charities  and 
institutions,  as  reported  in  the 
daily  newspapers,  frequently  give 
a  misleading  impression  which  it  is 
very  desirable  to  correct.  It  is  well- 
known  that  when  the  residue  of 
what  appears  to  be  an  important 
estate  is  bequeathed  to  a  bene- 
ficiary there  is  little  or  nothing  left 
over  after  paying  of  death  duties 
and  other  expenses.  But  the  recent 
fall  in  the  value  of  securities  has 
so  heavily  diminished  all  estates 
that  in  very  many  cases  even  the 
specific  sums  bequeathed  cannot  be 
paid  in  full.  Legacies  which  were 
intended  to  total  thousands  fre- 
quently amount  to  only  a  few  hun- 
dreds; while  the  newspaper  an- 
nouncement of  the  will  leads  the 
public  to  believe,  quite  wrongly, 
that  such  and  such  a  charity  will 
be  in  an  affluent  position  for  years. 
Many  such  cases  have  recently  been 
brought  to  our  notice.  (Universe). 

WHAT  ONE  WOMAN  CAN  DO! 

Within  the  last  seventeen  years 
a  Catholic  woman  of  New  York, 
Mrs.  Thomas  Kelly,  now  79  years 
of  age,  has  packed  and  shipped 
150,000  books  to  persons  making 
inquiries  about  the  Faith.  The 
Catholic  Unity  League,  which  has 
helped  1,800  Catholics  to  embrace 
the  faith  in  the  last  eighteen  years, 
is  housed  in  Mrs.  Kelly's  home. 
May  the  splendid  example  of  this 
zealous  Catholic  woman  inspire 
many  of  our  readers  to  "go  and  do 
likewise." 

THE  PRESENT  ATTITUDE  ON 
MARRIAGE. 

People  to-day  are  marrying  for 
pleasure  rather  than  parenthood, 
for  companionship  and  recreative 
rather  than  for  creative  purposes. 
The  ethical  and  moral  aspects  of 
marriage  are  being  ignored  in  the 
modern  world. 

— F.  Woolcck,  S.J. 

A  JAPANESE  PROVERB 

There  is  an  old  Japanese  pro- 
verb which  says  that  even  the 
cheery  blossoms  gladden  the  eye 
only  for  a  little  while.  A  puff  of 
wind  can  break  and  scatter  the 
blossoms  and  then  there  is  regret 
for  loveliness  that  has  gone. 

How  true  to  life! 

<sws« 

Chesterton  once  said:  "Chris- 
tianity has  not  been  tried  and 
found  wanting;  it  has  been  found 
difficult  and  not  tried." 

ONE  THORN  OF  E: 


OUR  PRIESTS 

All  Catholics  interested  in  the 
spreading  of  God's  Kingdom  neces- 
sarily surround  the  priest  with 
great  reverence  and  love.  They 
know  that  he  is  the  "one  who  is 
sent"  by  God  and  by  the  Church  to 
accomplish  this  great  work.  We 
therefore  recommend  to  our  readers 
this  beautiful  prayer  for  priests: 

O  almighty  eternal  God,  look  upon 
the  face  of  Thy  Christ,  and  for  love 
of  Him  who  is  the  eternal  High- 
priest,  have  pity  on  Thy  priests. 
Remember,  O  most  compassionate 
God,  that  they  are  but  weak  and 


frail  human  beings.  Stir  up  in 
them  the  grace  of  their  vocation 
which  is  in  them  by  the  imposition 
of  the  Bishop's  hands.  Keep  them 
close  to  Thee,  lest  the  enemy  pre- 
vail against  them,  so  that  they  may 
never  do  anything  in  the  slightest 
degree  unworthy  of  their  sublime 
vocation. 

O  Jesus,  I  pray  Thee  for  Thy 
faithful  and  fervent  priests;  for 
Thy  unfaithful  and  tepid  priests; 
for  Thy  priests  laboring  at  home 
or  abroad  in  distant  mission  fields; 
for  Thy  tempted  priests;  for  Thy 
lonely  and  desolate  priests;  for  Thy 
young  priests;  for  Thy  aged  priests; 
for  the  souls  of  Thy  priests  in  pur- 
gatory. 

But  above  all  I  commend  to  Thee 
the  priests  dearest  to  me;  the  priest 
who  baptized  me;  the  priests  who 
absolved  me  from  my  sins ;  the 
priests  at  whose  Masses  I  assisted 
and  who  gave  me  Thy  Body  and 
Blood  in  Holy  Communion;  the 
priests  who  taught  and  instructed 
me  or  helped  me  and  encouraged 
me;  all  the  priests  to  whom  I  am 

PERIENCE  IS  WORTH  A  WTLDERN 


indebted  in  any  other  way,  particul- 
arly   O  Jesus,  keep 

them  all  close  to  Thy  heart,  and 
bless  them  abundantly  in  time  and 
in  eternity.  Amen. 

LIVING  ON  THE  MARGIN 

There  are  too  many  Catholics, 
it  is  true,  who  are  living  on  the 
margin  of  Catholic  life.  They  do 
not  grasp  the  far-reaching  signi- 
ficance of  the  missionary  life  of  the 
Church.  They  are  indifferent.  They 
may  give  to  it  a  casual  thought,  an 
occasional  offering.  It  has  not  en- 
tered into  their  own  life.  They  do 
not  realize  that  a  missionary  en- 
deavour is  the  very  life  blood  of 
the  Church.  There  is  nothing  like 
an  intelligent,  loving  and  persever- 
ing interest  in  the  mission  work  of 
the  Church  to  introduce  a  soul  to 
the  fulness  of  her  life.  Let  us  not 
live  on  the  margin — but  in  the  very 
heart  of  Mother  Church.  G.D. 

FIGURES 

Of  the  1,750  million  human 
beings  in  the  world  800  million 
know  nothing  of  the  existence  of 
Christianity;  240  million  have 
divorced  themselves  from  the 
Church  of  the  Apostles;  160  mil- 
lion claim  it  but  refuse  obedience 
to  the  Vicar  of  Christ;  15  million 
still  cling  to  the  tradition  of  the 
Old  Testament  and  refuse  allegi- 
ance to  the  New.  Those  who  still 
cling  to  the  unity  of  faith  are  only 
300  million.  For  every  professed 
member  of  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church  there  are  five  persons  in  the 
world  who  either  know  not  Christ 
or  have  rejected  Him  in  the  in- 
tegrity of  His  Mystical  Body. 

"In  return  for  the  faith  we  have 
received  from  God,  let  us  contribute 
to  give  faith  to  others.  In  return 
for  the  treasures  of  graces  with 
which  God  has  blessed  us  let  us  con- 
tribute with  all  our  strength  to  carry 
those  treasures  as  far  as  possible 
and  to  as  many  as  possible  of  God's 
creatures. 

Pius  XI. 

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SSS  OF  WARNING. 


4 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


JULY,  1940 


OUR  FARGO  LETTER 


Consecration  of  Bishop  Ryan 

YOUR  request  for  more  Fargo  news  comes 
at  a  time  when  we  are  again  in  the  midst  of 
a  great  celebration.  On  Tuesday  next  one 
of  Fargo's  own  priests,  pastor  for  over  twenty 
years  of  St.  Anthony's  Parish  here,  is  being  con- 
secrated Bishop  of  Bismarck.  The  people  of  the 
city  feel  keenly  the  loss  that  is  soon  to  be  theirs, 
but  so  firmly  has  "Father  Ryan"  entwined  him- 
self about  their  hearts,  that  laying  aside  all 
feelings  of  sadness  they  rejoice  at  the  honor  con- 
ferred upon  him  and  are  determined  to  make  the 
day  of  Consecration  a  memorable  one  in  the 
history  of  this  diocese. 

Weekly  Mass  At  Mission  Centre 

But  Avhile  outstanding  events  seem  to  follow 
each  other  with  great  rapidity  in  Fargo,  the 
ordinary  every-day  tasks  move  steadily  on  with 
little  or  no  comment.  In  the  latter  group  we 
now  list  our  work  at  the  Centre.  On  March  16 
we  were  happy  indeed  to  have  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
of  the  Mass  celebrated  there  for  the  first  time. 
All  the  children  and  many  of  the  adults  were 
present.  Each  Saturday  since  that  date  we  have 
been  having  Mass  at  9  a.m.,  followed  by  religious 
instruction  for  the  children.  It  is  really  inspir- 
ing to  see  these  people  gather  each  Saturday 
morning  and  to  note  the  eagerness  with  which 
they  listen  to  the  words  of  the  priest  who  always 
takes  the  opportunity  of  giving  a  little  instruc- 
tion at  the  end  of  the  Mass 

Visit  of  Bishop  Muench 

On  May  11,  His  Excellency  the  Bishop,  who 
is  most  interested  in  the  work,  came  himself  to 


After  Lessons  It's  Time  for  Lunch. 


celebrate  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  That  was  a  red 
letter  day  for  the  Centre.  Long  before  time  for 
the  Mass  the  alleys  around  near  Front  Street 
were  dotted  with  men,  women  and  children,  all 
in  their  best  attire.  The  mothers  had  made  a 
special  effort  that  morning,  and  the  tiny  tots 
were  brought  along,  too.  Many  of  these  people 
were  meeting  their  bishop  for  the  first  time.  For 
others  it  was  their  first  meeting  with  any  bishop 
and  for  all  it  was  a  very  happy  day.  For  some 
weeks  previous,  during  their  regular  "Wednesday 
evening  "get-togethers",  Reverend  Father  Nor- 
bert  had  been  practising  with  them  hymns  that 
would  be  suitable  for  this  great  occasion.  Dur- 
ing the  Mass  these  hymns  were  sung  by  all 
present.  His  Excellency  was  well  pleased  with 
the  work  being  done  for  these  forgotten  ones 
and  particularly  pleased  with  the  way  in  Avhich 
they  respond  to  the  efforts  made  in  their  behalf. 
He  spoke  very  kindly  to  them  on  this  morning, 
commending  them  for  their  co-operation  and  urg- 
ing them  to  bring  others  to  share  with  them  the 
spiritual  benefits  of  which  they  had  been  so  long 
deprived.  His  Excellency  also  told  them  that 
plans  were  being  made  to  further  the  work  being 
done  at  the  Centre,  that  he  was  much  interested 
in  their  welfare  and  that  he  would  be  ever  ready 
and  willing  to  help  them. 

Volunteer  Workers 

They  have  little  of  the  goods  of  this  worla 
yet  of  their  own  accord  they  suggested  and  vol- 
untarily contributed  towards  a  fund  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  rooms  used  for  religious  in- 
struction. Among  their  number  were  found  men 
of  talent ; — painters,  decorators,  carpenters,  etc., 
who  freely  offered  their  services 
for  this  work.  The  entrance  to 
the  hall  is  through  an  alley  which 
at  times  is  inclined  to  be  a  bit  mud- 
dy. A  group  of  the  older  boys 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  a  few 
loads  of  ashes  would  go  a  long 
way  towards  keeping  both  the 
shoes  and  floors  clean,  so  plans  are 
being  made  and  in  the  near  future, 
unless  the  old  Ford  refuses,  we 
hope  to  have  a  nice  cinder  walk 
from  the  street  to  the  entrance. 
Some  of  the  ladies,  too,  have  offer- 
ed their  help  in  the  serving  of  re- 
freshments. All  these  gestures  on 
the  part  of  our  people  are  indica- 
tive of  good  will  and  appreciation 
of  what  we  are  trying  to  do  for 
them.    (continuet[  on  j)age  6) 


TO  LOVE  IS  GREATER  THAN  THE  LOVE  YOU  SIGH  FOR 


JULY,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


SUPER  OMNIA  CARITAS 


QN  May  28th,  in  the  Ca- 
thedral  of  Fargo,  North 
Dakota,  the  Most  Rev.  Vin- 
cent J.  Ryan,  D.D.,  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Bis- 
marck, N.D. 

The  ceremony  was  most 
colourful.  The  consecra- 
tion of  a  Bishop  is  perhaps 
one  of  the  most  inspiring 
sights  the  Catholic  liturgy 
can  offer  the  faithful.  Sur- 
rounded by  his  brothers  in 
the  episcopacy  and  the  nu- 
merous clergy,  the  Bishop- 
elect  received  the  episcopal 
consecration  at  the  hands  of 
his  own  Bishop,  the  Most 
Rev.  Aloysius  J.  Muench, 
D.D.,  of  Fargo. 

At  the  solemn  moment  of 
the  "Laying  on  of  hands" 
by  the  three  consecrating 
Bishops  on  the  head  of  the 
"chosen  one"  our  mind  tra- 
velled  back    through  cen- 
turies.    The  words  of  the 
Saviour:     "Receive  ye  the 
Holy  Ghost"  were  so  true 
and  so  real;  one  could  sense, 
as  it  were,  the  Presence  of 
the  Divine  Spirit  taking  pos- 
session of  the  priestly  soul 
of  our  new  Bishop.  These 
words  carry  with  them  in- 
deed that  vitalizing  power 
of  the   Apostolic   Succession.      Over  the 
anointed  head  of  the  elected  one  was  forged 
another  link  in  that  long  chain  of  Bishops 
and,  through  them,  of  priests,  which  binds 
the  Church  of  to-day  to  that  of  past  ages. 
For  as  St.  Paul  said  to  the  "ancients  of  the 
Church":     "Take  heed  to  yourselves  and 
to  the  whole  flock,  wherein  the  Holy  Ghost 
hath  placed  you  bishops,  to  rule  the  Church 
of  God,  which  He  hath  purchased  with  His 
own  blood."    (Acts  20,  28). 


THE  MOST  REV.  VINCENT  J.  RYAN,  D.I). 

May  the  Sisters  of  Service  be  allowed 
to  offer  to  the  newly-consecrated  Bishop 
their  respectful  homage  and  fervent  prayers? 
As  Director  of  Catholic  Charities  in  the  Dio- 
cese of  Fargo,  North  Dakota,  Bishop  Ryan 
was  most  helpful  to  them  in  their  new  Foun- 
dation. May  his  episcopate  in  the  Diocese 
of  Bismarck,  where  God  has  called  him  "to 
rule  over  the  Church  of  God"  be  happy  and 
fruitful! 

Ad  Multos  et  Faustissimos  Annos. 


TO  SEEK  IS  NOBLER  THA  N   THE  OBJECT  OATNEI) 


6 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


JULY,  1940 


OUR  FARGO  LETTER 

(Continued  from  page  4) 
Tangible  Results 

Many  of  the  adults  and  older  children  are 
now  attending  Mass  at  the  Cathedral  or  St. 
Anthony's  Church,  and  in  the  Pall  we  hope  to 
have  most  of  the  children  in  the  parochial  schools. 
Since  the  opening  of  this  Centre  thirteen  children 
have  been  baptized,  eight  converts  received  into 
the  Church  and  as  many  more  returned  to  the 
Church  after  a  lapse  of  many  years.  These  re- 
sults have  been  accomplished  in  a  short  time  but 
only  through  the  united  efforts  of  generous  and 
untiring  workers.  The  Fathers  who  are  in 
charge  of  the  Centre  are  most  zealous  for  the 
welfare  of  the  people.  Besides  the  actual  work 
of  instructing,  one  of  the  Fathers  spends  the 
afternoons  of  Saturday  and  Sunday  visiting  the 
homes.  The  Members  of  the  Legion  of  Mary 
are  giving  every  spare  moment  to  the  cause. 
They  are  personally  acquainted  with  each  family, 
help  them  in  ever  so  many  ways  and  encourage 
them  to  be  regular  in  attendance  at  the  weekly 
Mass  and  Instruction.  "With  workers  such  as 
these  in  the  field  we  find  our  burden  light  in- 
deed. We,  too,  visit  the  homes  of  our  little  ones 
and  we  know  just  how  much  they  and  their 
parents  appreciate  the  interest  taken  in  them 
by  the  Fathers  and  the  members  of  the  Legion. 
We  hope  to  continue  this  work  in  the  Fall  and 
if  possible  to  provide  some  means  of  daily  con- 
tact with  them. 

Off  To  Rural  Districts 

Next  Saturday  we  leave  Fargo  and  com- 
mence our  work  in  the  parish  of  Oriska  and  its 
neighboring  missions.  Prom  there  we  go  on  to 
Kensal  and  later  to  Hope.  This  work  will  take 
up  practically  the  whole  of  the  summer  months. 
We  are  looking  forward  to  this  new  venture 
and  on  our  return  shall  be  able  to  send  you  more 
"items  of  interest."  S.O.S.  of  Fargo. 


INSPIRATION  FROM  "IMITATION" 

The  following  letter  recently  received  from 
one  of  our  priest-friends,  was  accompanied  by  a 
donation  towards  our  Stamp  Fund : 
Dear  Sisters: 

Like  all  old  men  I  sometimes  read  the  "Imitation 
of  Christ,"  and  so,  last  night,  here  is  what  made  me 
think  of  you  and  your  work:  "With  two  wings  a 
man  is  lifted  up  above  earthly  things." 

I  very  much  regret  I  cannot  find  you  many  wings. 
The  depression  the  war  and  the  going  away  of  our 
boys  is  leaving  us  poor  and  busy,  at  least  more  so 
than  we  were! 

I  would  like  to  give  you  a  whole  flock  of  airships 
to  get  you  into  "the  uttermost  bounds"  of  this  vast 
Continent,  but  you  must  take  my  poor  prayers  for 
the  deed!  These  you  will  have  when  I  offer  the 
Holy  Sacrifice,  and,  believe  me,  I  take  a  deep  interest 
in  your  work,  which  is  His  work,  therefore  mine. 

Sincerely  in  J.M.J. 


CLUB  NOTES 

St.  Anthony's  Club,  Toronto 

The  members  of  this  Club  held  their  Annual 
May  Procession  on  the  last  Sunday  of  May.  The 
Procession,  led  by  little  Mary  Martin,  carrying  a 
blue  satin  cushion,  on  which  reposed  a  crown 
of  flowers,  proceeded  up  the  street  to  enter  by 
the  side  walk  to  the  lawn  at  the  back  of  the 
Club  where  an  altar  to  Our  Lady  had  been  erect- 
ed and  beautifully  decorated  with  flowers.  The 
President  of  the  Club,  Tresa  Xestman,  read  the 
Act  of  Consecration  to  Our  Lady  and  an  impres- 
sive sermon  was  delivered  by  the  Chaplain,  Rev. 
Thomas  Kayes.  The  Procession  then  reformed 
and  marched  to  the  Sisters  of  Service  chapel, 
where  Benediction  Avas  given  by  Reverend 
Father  Hayes. 

On  Sunday,  May  12th,  a  successful  Silver  Re- 
union Tea  was  held  in  the  Hostel  Club  rooms. 
The  guests  were  received  by  the  President,  assist- 
ed by  Mrs.  Edward  Lucas.  The  tea  table  decor- 
ations were  particularly  attractive,  being  carried 
out.  in  the  Club  colours  of  yellow  and  white.  The 
outstanding  item  of  the  afternoon's  programme 
was  the  delightful  rendering  of  musical  selec- 
tions by  Miss  Betty  Ann  Fisher,  a  brilliant  young 
violinist.  Members  of  the  Catholic  Women's 
League  and  many  former  Club  members,  who  are 
now  married,  were  present.  Including  the  Club 
members,  there  were  over  a  hundred  guests. 


St.  Anthony's  Club,  Ottawa 

The  members  of  the  Ottawa  branch  of  St. 
Anthony's  Club  have  had  a  busy  season,  accord- 
ing to  an  "Activities  Report"  just  received.  We 
have  not  space  to  list  all  their  special  pro- 
grammes, parties,  etc.,  but  we  found  of  particular 
interest  the  fact  that  during  Lent  the  members 
utilized  their  spare  moments  in  knitting  for  the 
Red  Cross. 

From  the  proceeds  of  various  social  activities 
sufficient  money  was  realized  to  send  a  donation 
to  the  Archbishop  for  the  education  of  young 
men  for  the  priesthood.  In  addition  to  this,  $18 
was  contributed  to  the  '"Stamp  Fund"  of  the 
Sisters  of  Service. 

As  the  Sisters  usually  have  a  class  of  public 
school  children  under  instruction  for  First  Com- 
munion, it  was  decided  that  the  "Club"  would 
provide  a  First  Communion  outfit  for  one  of  the 
children  whose  parents  could  not  afford  to  buy 
anything  extra  for  this  great  occasion. 

Devotion  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  grow- 
ing among  the  CI  id)  members.  "Whenever  they 
come  to  the  hostel  they  make  a  visit  to  the  chapel, 
and  attendance  at  Mass  and  Communion  during 
Lent  was  most  gratifying. 


TO  HAVE  FAITH  IS  TO  CREATE,  TO  HAVE  BOPE  is  TO  CALL 


JULY,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


7 


SUNSHINE  AND  SHADOW 


Sunday  .Afternoon  at  the  Red  Cross  Hospital. 


These  little  ones  are  inmates  of  the  Red  Cross 
Children's  Hospital,  Regina.  Do  their  coun- 
tenances betray  sadness  or  joy?  Yon  will  have 
to  admit  a  ray  of  sunshine  is  brightening  each 
little  face.  They  are  a  few  of  God's  cherished 
souls,  over  whom  He  has  raised  His  all-wise  Hand 
in  blessing  by  afflicting  them  with  some  physical 
suffering.  These  children  come,  for  the  most 
part,  from  extremely  poor  districts  in  Saskatche- 
wan, and  not  being  blessed  with  temporal  goods 
they  are  unable  of  themselves  to  procure  medical 
assistance.  They  have  recourse,  therefore,  to 
the  Red  Cross  in  Regina.  Many  of  these  child- 
ren live  so  far  from  Church  that  upon  arrival 
at  the  hospital  they  have  not  as  yet  made  their 
First  Holy  Communion.  Each  Sunday  a  Sister 
of  Service  visits  the  Red  Cross  hospital,  groups 
together  the  Catholic  children  and  teaches  them 
catechism. 

In  such  a  place  as  this  a  little  Catholic  child 
may  serve  as  a  great  example  to  his  less  privi- 
ledged  companions.  For  instance,  after  Sister  had 
visited  a  couple  of  times  and  given  them  a  few 
instructions  on  how  to  behave  as  Catholics,  one 
little  girl  went  to  the  nurse  and  said:  "Nurse, 
may  we  have  fish  on  Friday  instead  of  meat, 
you  know  Catholics  do  not  eat  meat  on  that  day." 
Since  that  incident,  all  partake  of  fish  on  Friday, 
even  to  the  joy  of  some,  as  one  little  boy  said: 
"I  wish  every  day  were  Friday  for  I  like  fish." 

Those  unable  to  come  to  the  class-room  are 
instructed  privately  in  bed.  Pat,  a  little  chap 
of  four,  was  taught  the  Sign  of  the  Cross  and 
Hail  Mary  and  recommended  to  recite  them 
morning  and  night.  After  the  usual  tucking  in 
bed  was  accomplished,  Pat's  head  would  be 
seen  rising  above  the  covers,  his  large  dark  eyes 


peering  across  the  room.  After  a  few  chidings 
from  Nurse,  he  courageously  exclaimed:  "But 
Sister  said  I  must  do  my  duty  if  1  wish  God  to 
bless  me,  and  I  have  not  said  my  prayers  yet." 
Now  Pat  is  made  say  his  prayers  before  he  pre- 
pares for  Nod  Land,  and  Nurse  has  not  a  double 
charge  to  perform. 

If  these  little  ones  remain  a  considerable 
length  of  time  in  the  hospital  they  are  brought 
to  the  Sisters'  Convent,  and  here  in  the  midst  of 
unspeakable  joy  they  make  their  First  Com- 
munion. On  their  return  to  their  homes,  they 
are  sent  our  Catechism  lessons,  and  we  know  from 
now  on  the  word  of  God  will  be  constantly  flow- 
ing into  those  dwellings  which  before  were  lack- 
ing in  the  consolations  of  our  beautiful  religion. 

A  wonderful  demonstration  of  patience  is 
shown  by  these  children.  Never  a  word  of  com- 
plaint is  heard  to  escape  from  their  lips.  ...  If 
one  were. feeling  blue,  it  would  cheer  the  heart 
to  visit  this  Ward  of  suffering  and  know  what 
happiness  can  emanate  even  from  souls  deprived 
of  Life's  greatest  temporal  blessing — Health. 

s.o.s. 

*  1 

I  Please 
I  Remember  in  Your  Will 

the 

Missionary  Work  of  the 
Sisters  of  Service. 

J    Make  your  money  work  for  the  Church  in  j 
Canada,  after  your  death. 

*  + 


l>OWN  BLESSING,  TO  HAVE  »LOVE  IS  TO  WORK  MIRACLES 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


CHECK  UP 

Some  time  ago  our  Sisters  decided  it  would 
be  interesting  to  find  out  just  how  many  of  the 
families  whose  names  had  been  sent  to  Eastern 
re-mailers  were  really  being  supplied  with  Cath- 
olic literature.  To  this  end  they  mailed  the  fol- 
lowing enquiry: 

Dear  Friends : 

As  we  have  asked  several  kind  friends  in 
the  East  to  send  literature  to  various  homes 
on  the  Prairie,  we  would  like  to  know  if 
there  is  anyone  re-mailing  Catholic  papers 
and  magazines  to  your  home.  If  so,  would 
you  kindly  tell  us  who  this  kind  friend  is, 
and  how  often  you  receive  these  papers? 

Sisters  of  Service. 

The  response  to  this  questionnaire  was  most 
encouraging.  We  are  printing  a  few  of  the  many 
notes  of  appreciation  received,  hoping  they  will 
be  an  incentive  to  many  more  Catholics  to  re- 
mail  their  Catholic  books,  papers  and  magazines. 

"Yes,  we  do  get  the  Catholic  papers.     We  get 

them  twice  a  month   from  Mrs.   ,  Windsor, 

Ont.  We  have  been  geting  these  interesting  papers 
for  about  three  years." 

*  *  * 

"As  to  your  request  asking  for  the  name  of  one 
that  is  re-mailing  Catholic   literature   to   us,   I  am 

pleased  to  inform  you  that  Miss   ,  Toronto  is 

sending  us  papers  and  magazines  which  we  appre- 
ciate very  much  indeed.  Therefore,  I  wish  to  thank 
you,  dear  Sisters,  for  the  rest  of  the  family,  also, 
for  making  it  possible  for  us  to  receive  these  Cath- 
olic articles." 

*  *  * 

"We  get  Catholic  papers  from  the  East.    We  get 

them  from  Miss   ,  Outremont,  P.Q.     We  all 

enjoy  them  very  much.  We  write  to  her  to  thank 
her  for  them." 

*  *  * 

"We  receive  reading  matter  from  Miss   , 

Waterloo,  Ont.  Occasionally  we  receive  the  'Cana- 
dian  Messenger'   from   ,   Montreal.      We  are 

grateful  for  these  because  we  do  not  get  many  other 
religious  matters.     Thanking  you." 

*  *     *  * 

"We  get  a  Catholic  Paper  from  Mr.   ,  St. 

Thomas,  Ont.  I  re-mail  these  again  to  my  daughter. 
We  appreciate  these  papers  very  much." 

*  *  * 

"Miss   ,  Dartmouth,  N.S.,  sends  us  the 

Catholic  Record  and  she  also  sent  us  some  beautiful 
medals  and  holy  pictures." 

*  *  * 

"We  receive  the  Catholic  Register  and  the  Cath- 
olic Record  and  some  Messengers  of  the  Sacred  Heart 

from  Mr.   ,  Toronto,  Ont.     We  receive  them 

every  week.  I  am  sure  God  will  reward  him  for  this 
good  deed." 

*  *  * 

"We  get  Catholic  papers  from  Miss   ,  Mont- 
real.   We  thank  you  for  sending  in  our  name." 

*  *  * 

"We  get  the  Catholic  paper  from  Mr.   .  I 

re-mail  these  again  to  my  daughter  who  is  working 
out.    We  appreciate  the  papers  very  much." 


APOSTOLATE  OF  THE  POSTAGE  STAMP 

One  rarely  thinks  of  the  country  postmaster 
as  a  missionary.  Yet  he  is  an  essential  cog  in 
the  organization  of  Catholi-;  Home  Missions. 

The  Sisters  of  Service  who  are  engaged  in 
the  work  of  giving  religious  instruction  by  mail 
realize  this  well.  The  lessons  must  pass  through 
the  post  office  and  to  do  this  thev  need-  A  ONE 
CENT  STAMP. 

Where  Catholic  families  are  few  and  scatter- 
ed and  Catholic  schools  and  priests  almost  un- 
known, the  use  of  the  mails  is  an  important  fac- 
tor in  bringing  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God 
and  His  Church  to  the  Catholic  family. 

By  means  of  religious  correspondence  and  the 
re-mailing  of  Catholic  literature  thousands  of 
children  are  being  prepared  for  First  Commun- 
ion and  Confirmation  without  charge;  frequently 
the  whole  family  benefits  from  this  instruction. 
In  this  way  many  souls  are  saved  to  the  Church 
who  would  otherwise  be  lost  in  the  quicksands 
of  present  day  indifferent  ism  and  carelessness. 

The  Sisters  who  are  devoting  their  lives  to 
this  necessary  and  fruitful  work  have  onlv  one 
complaint— LACK  OF  STAMPS.  Often  the 
needed  stamps  are  not  available,  nor  the  funds 
with  which  to  purchase  them. 

Will  you  help  in  this  great  "Apostolate  of 
the  Postage  Stamp"  by  sending  a  few  stamps  to 
THE  SISTERS  OF  SERVICE. 

2220  Cameron  Street,  Regina.  Sask. 


RE  MAILING  APOSTOLATE 

The  persistent  appeal  being  made  by  our  Sis- 
ters in  Regina  to  Eastern  Catholics  for  the  re- 
mailing  of  Catholic  literature  to  isolated  Western 
families  is  meeting  with  gratifying  results.  The 
following  letters,  culled  at  random  from  a  sheaf 
of  Regina  mail  shows  the  whole-hearted  enthus- 
iasm with  which  some  good  Catholics  are  enter- 
ing upon  this  apostolate: 

Dear  Sisters: 

In  reply  to  your  request  we  will  gladly  accept  the 
address  of  one  or  more  families  and  will  mail  them 
our  Catholic  literature.  If  you  would  send  several 
addresses  perhaps  we  could  persuade  more  families 
to  mail  theirs  also. 

Wishing  you  every  success,  and  grateful  to  be 
able  to  assist  you  in  your  great  work  of  saving 
souls,  we  are, 

Sincerely  yours, 
•     *  * 

Dear  Sisters  of  Service: 

I  received  your  card  on  Saturday  and  I  am 
mailing  a  "Catholic  Register"  to  Mr.  P.  I  hope  he 
gets  it  all  right.  I  am  also  mailing  this  same  paper 
to  Mr.  B.  at  L.  You  say  God  will  bless  me  for  doing 
this,  and  I  think  He  is  already  blessing  me  for  I  get 
a  bigger  thrill  out  of  sending  them  than  you  do 
sending  me  the  addresses.  Whisper  a  little  prayer 
to  the  Sacred  Heart  for  me,  will  you? 

Yours  truly. 


ou>  DOGS  CAN  LEARN  NEW 


THICKS  IK  THEY  WANT  TO 


JULY,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


9 


A  GLIMPSE  AT  THE  CHILDREN'S  WARD,  EDSON 


We  believe  our  readers  will  be  as  delighted 
as  we  are  with  the  above  snapshot  of  a  corner 
of  the  Children's  Ward  in  our  Edson  hospital. 

The  vision  of  blond  loveliness  sitting  up  so 
alertly  is  Violet — i1^  years  old  and  very  shy. 
Yes,  she  can  talk,  but  rarely  does.  Her  smile, 
though,  is  a  priceless  thing,  and  always  ready 
to  flash  a  welcome. 

Jane,  the  little  one  reclining  so  lazily  in  the 
foreground,  is  quite  a  character.  Her  specialty 
is  child  training  and  despite  her  scant  six  years, 
seems  to  be  well  versed  in  the  care  of  babies. 
Violet's  baby  brother  (also  in  the  children's 
ward)  is  a  source  of  great  interest  to  Jane.  She 
is  very  anxious  about  his  welfare.  One  night 
when  Sister  had  spent  almost  an  hour  trying  to 
feed  him,  he  spit  ottt  most  of  the  feeding.  Jane 
was  watching  closely  and  Sister  said  to  her: 
"Donald  is  a  very  bad  boy.  I  think  I  shall 
have  to  spank  him." 

Promptly  came  the  answer.  "No,  don't  spank 
him  this  time,  Sister.  He  doesn't  know  any 
better  yet." 

After  a  few  days  when  Donald  was  a  little 
better  behaved  she  would  watch  the  feeding  pro- 
cess from  her  cot,  and  at  the  end  enquire  grave- 
ly: "How  many  ounces  did  he  take  this  time?" 
When  it  was  time  for  orange  juice  and  he  was 
given  milk  instead,  she  would  inform  the  Sisters 
of  their  "mistake". 

When  Jane  was  able  to  walk  about  she  used 
to  shake  Donald's  crib  and  sing  nursery  rhymes 
to  him.  One  of  the  Sisters  asked  Her  if  Donald 
were  as  nice  as  Dinny.  (Dinny  is  Jane's  two- 
year-old  brother  at  home  and  the  apple  of  her 
eye).  So  it  is  not  surprising  that  Jane  treated 
this  question  rather  scornfully.  "Donald's  a 
nice  baby,"  she  admitted,  "but  there  isn't  any 
baby  in  the  whole  world  as  nice  as  Dinny."  A 
little  later  she  volunteered  the  information  that 
Dinny  is  the  only  one  in  her  family  nicer  than 
she.    (No  false  humility  about  Jane). 


Jane  made  a  visit  to  the  chapel  and  on  re- 
turning to  the  nursery  told  the  Sisters  she  in- 
tended to  come  back  to  the  hospital  later  on. 
Naturally  they  wanted  to  know  when  and  why. 
She  said:  "Next  year  I'm  coming  to  stay  for  a 
while  to  get  ready  for  my  First  Communion." 
She  seems  to  be  looking  forward  eagerly  to  this 
"Big  Day". 

Jane  thinks  she  will  miss  the  hospital  when 
she  leaves  but,  says  she:  "I'll  be  glad  to  go 
because  I'm  lonesome  for  Dinny."  S.O.S. 


MODERN  MEANS  OF  TRAFFIC 

are  a  necessity  for  the  development  of  the  Missions! 
What  inconvenience  is  involved  by  a  tram  or  bus 
strike,  which  only  lasts  for  a  few  days!  .  .  .  Did  you 
ever  think  that  a  Missionary  has  always  to  face  these 
"inconveniences?"  .  .  .  And  yet,  he  would  not  mind 
the  difficulty  were  it  not  that  the  salvation  of  im- 
mortal souls  depends  all  too  often  upon  the  re- 
moval of  these  "inconveniences." 

What  could  we  answer  if,  one  day  the  pagans 
arise  in  judgment  against  us  with  our  pleasure-trips, 
"mystery-tours,"  week-ends,  (and  it  seems  we  can- 
not do  without  them!)  to  accuse  us  before  God  that 
it  would  have  cost  us  so  little  to  save  them?  .  .  . 
Heaven  sufferth  violence,  and  only  the  violent  ones 
(those  who  do  violence  to  themselves)  will  gain  it. 
We  too  easily  forget  this  in  our  pleasure-mad  times. 

{  Prayer  of  Pope  Pius  XI  for  the  Missions  j 

OLORD  Jesus  Christ,  most  loving,  who  I 
at  the  price  of  Thy  Precious  Blood  . 
didst  redeem  the  world,  mercifully 
j   look  down  upon  the  poor  human  race,  still 
J   for  the  most  part  held  in  the  darkness  of 
|   error  and  in  the  shadow  of  death,  and  make 
j   the  full  light  of  truth  to  shine  upon  it. 
1        Multiply,  O  Lord,  the  Apostles  of  Thy  - 
1   Gospel.   Fill  them  with  fervour,  make  fruit-  I 
|   ful  and  bless  with  Thy  grace  their  zeal  and 
I   their  labours,  so  that  through  them  all  un- 
J   believers  may  be  brought  to  know  and  love 
j   Thee,  their  Creator  and  Redeemer. 

Call  back  the  erring  to  Thy  fold  and 
j  the  rebellious  to  the  bosom  of  Thy  one  true 
I  Church.  Hasten,  0  merciful  Saviour,  the 
J  promised  coming  of  Thy  reign  upon  earth. 
I  Draw  all  men  to  Thy  loving  heart,  that  they 
I  may  share  in  the  infiuite  benefias  of  Thy 
j  redemption  in  the  never-ending  bliss  of 
j   Heaven.  Amen. 

(Three  hundred  days  indulgence  for  each 
|  recitation.  Plenary  indulgence  once  a  month, 
j  on  the  usual  conditions  for  those  who  recite 
j   it  daily). 


YOU  CAN  LEAD  A  MAN  TO  COLLEGE,  R  FT    YOU    CANNOT    MAKE    HIM  THINK 


10 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


JULY,  1940 


THROUGH  THE  EYES  OF  CHILDREN 

From  letters  written  to  us  by  the  children  at- 
tending our  Camp  Morton  schools,  we  are  given 
glimpses  of  the  most  recent  happenings  of  inter- 
est in  that  little  mission.  Children's  letters  are 
always  so  charming-  and  ingenuous,  so  we  shall 
pass  them  on  to  our  readers  exactly  as  they  came 
to  us. 

Dear  Sister: 

We  had  a  Procession.  I  will  tell  you  all  about 
it.  The  little  girls  were  dressed  in  white  with 
white  veils  and  they  carried  baskets  with  flowers. 
They  had  two  banners,  one  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
and  one  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  The  altar  boys 
came  after  the  girls,  then  Monsignor  Morton  and 
1  lie  priest.  Then  the  choir,  and  last  of  all  the  peo- 
ple. We  went  around  the  church  three  times. 
There  were  four  altars.  From  the  church  to  the 
first  altar  the  choir  sang  in  English,  from  the  first 
altar  to  the  second,  the  people  sang  in  German, 
from  the  second  altar  to  the  third,  the  people  sang 
in  Polish,  from  the  third  altar  to  the  fourth  the 
children  sang  in  English  and  from  the  fourth 
altar  back  to  the  Church  the  people  sang  in 
German.  Then  we  had  Benediction  and  the  sing- 
ing was  in  Latin.  After  Benediction  we  wenl 
home.  T  think  1  will  close.  May  God  bless 
you ! 

Yours  truly  

Truly  a  magnificent  demonstration  of  the 
Catholicity  of  the  Church  !  Four  languages  in 
one  Procession  ! 

Dear  Sister : 

I  have  decided  to  write  and  tell  you  some- 
thing. The  children  have  joined  a  choir.  We 
learned  how  to  sing  the  Mass  and  quite  a  num- 
ber of  hymns.  We  have  choir  practise  every 
Tuesday  night.  Last  Tuesday  something  funny 
happened.  After  school  was  over  we  forgot  about 
choir  practice  and  locked  the  door.  So  when  we 
came  back  to  sing  we  could  not  get  in  because 
the  caretaker  was  in  the  city.  So  we  had  to  creep 
in  through  the  window.  When  the  caretaker 
was  on  bis  way  home  he  saw  the  window  open, 
and  he  let  us  out  through  the  door. 

Yesterday  Sister  drove  us  all  in  to  Morton 
for  Confession.  The  car  was  packed.  On  the 
way  we  met  three  motilities.  They  told  us  our 
car  was  too  full.  After  Confession  Sister  drove 
us  home.  Some  Indians  were  standing  at  our 
gate  with  two  horses  and  one  cow.  Elizabeth, 
my  cousin,  is  afraid  of  Indians,  so  she  climbed 
through  the  fence  and  ran  over  our  field,  so  as 
not  to  pass  by  them. 

I  will  close  now.    Good-bye.    God  bless  you! 

Your  friend  


A  LESSON  IN  CONTENTMENT 

For  a  week  we  had  as  a  patient  in  the  hospital 
a  very  pleasant  old  gentleman,  who  was  suffer- 
ing from  a  type  of  rheumatism  that  made  him 
practically  helpless.  He  had  been  ill  for  months 
in  his  own  home,  but  it  was  finally  decided  to 
bring  him  to  the  hospital  for  a  little  change, 
and  at  the  same  time  give  his  condition  a  chance 
for  improvement,  if  chance  there  was.  However, 
as  the  days  passed  there  was  no  improvement,  so 
he  resignedly  returned  home.  He  seemed  very 
pleased  with  everything  at  the  hospital,  and 
when  leaving  begged  the  Sisters  to  visit  him  at 
his  home,  which  is  only  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
distant. 

A  few  weeks  later,  some  of  the  Sisters  were 
celebrating  a  Feast  Day  by  taking  a  long 
walk.  On  the  way  back,  we  decided  that  here 
was  a  good  opportunity  to  keep  our  promise  to 
the  old  gentleman. 

In  answer  to  our  knock,  the  door  opened  by 
a  dear  old  blind  lady,  wife  of  our  patient.  She 
led  us  into  the  next  room,  which  was  a  combina- 
tion bedroom  and  sitting-room.  Here  lay  our 
old  gentleman,  in  a  nice  comfortable  bed,  pushed 
close  to  the  large  window,  so  that  he  could  see 
outside,  and  also  have  the  best  light  for  reading. 

They  were  both  genuinely  pleased  to  welcome 
us,  the  old  lady's  chief  regret  being  that  her 
daughter  was  not  at  home  to  make  us  a  cup  of 
tea.  On  account  of  her  blindness,  she  herself  was 
not  able  to  do  this.  However,  in  spite  of  this 
handicap,  she  manages  to  feel  her  way  around 
sufficiently  to  be  of  great  help  to  her  bed-ridden 
husband,  and  this  is  a  great  consolation  to  both. 

One  wall  of  the  large  room  was  lined  with 
books  and  there  was  a  piano  on  which  Sister  Z. 
played  several  selections,  much  to  the  delight 
of  the  old  couple. 

Looking  at  the  happy  faces  of  this  good  man 
and  his  wife,  we  could  not  help  feeling  that  here 
indeed  was  a  wonderful  lesson  in  contentment. 
Here  they  were,  certainly  not  blessed  with  the 
goods  of  this  world,  one  blind,  the  other  deaf 
and  permanently  confined  to  bed.  Their  only 
son — a  doctor — was  killed  on  duty,  and  they  also 
lost  a  daughter.  Yet  they  appeared  to  be  the 
happiest  pair  we  have  ever  met. 


IN  MEMORIAM 

On  June  6th  an  Anniversary  Mass  was 
sung  in  our  .Mother  House  chapel  for  Sister 
Carmel  Egan,  S.O.S.    The  Mass  was  cele- 
brated by  Reverend  Father  Daly.  C.SS.R. 
B.I.P. 


WHEN  YOl    HAVE  SPOKEN  Till)  WOKI>  IT  REIGNS  OVER  YOU 


JULY,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


A  DAY  AT  MARQUIS  SCHOOL 


IN  August,  1938,  the  Sisters  of  Service  went 
to  Marquis,  Sask.  This  was  their  second 
Foundation  in  the  province.  The  Separate 
School,  a  one-room  building-,  with  pupils  from 
the  Baby  Class  to  High  School,  was  the  specific 
objective  of  the  new  mission. 

The  bright,  happy  faces  in  the  picture  below 
give  us  an  idea  of  the  chief  source  of  interest 
for  those  sisters  to  whom  this  charge  has  been 
confided.  It  has  been  my  pleasant  privilege  to 
spend  a  day  with  this  group  of  lively  youngsters. 
Twenty-three  interesting  "little  men  and  women" 
make  up  the  personnel  of  the  School  and  with 
a  group  of  boys  of  such  variety  in  age  and  out- 
look there  is  no  monotony. 

On  the  day  of  my  visit  an  entertainment  was 
presented  in  my  honour.  The  teacher  withdrew 
to  the  cloak  room  to  prepare  some  work,  and  I 
was  alone  with  those  twenty-three  charming 
characters  who,  for  one  hour,  entertained  me  with 
songs,  readings,  pantomimes  and  short  skits 
which  had  been  part  of  a  concert  they  had  given 
previously  in  the  town  hall. 

The  Baby  Class  presented  very  dramatically 
the  story  of  Chicken  Little.  There  was  no  lack 
of  action,  I  assure  you,  and  Shirley — in  school 
only  since  last  September,  was  the  leading  lady. 
The  Celt  predominates  in  her  acting  and  when 
Bobby  and  George,  who  are  inclined  to  show 
not  too  much  animation  in  their  acting,  annoyed 
her,  she  tossed  her  head  and  relieved  her  pent- 
up  exasperation  by  repeating  one  of  their  lacka- 
daisical phrases,  adding  emphatically  :  "My  eye  !" 

Lois  acted  as  chair- 
man, and  the  skill  she 
manifested  in  taking 
charge  of  the  pro- 
gramme, carrying  it 
through  with  perfect  or- 
der, caused  me  to  vision 
this  little  fair-haired  girl 
of  10  or  11  as  a  great 
leader  in  the  years  to 
come.  When  the  last 
item  was  concluded  Lois 
called  on  me  to  speak 
to  this  group  of  "ama- 
teur entertainers,"  and 
after  I  had  complied  we 
all  joined  in  the  singing 
of  "O  Canada!" 

Leon,  who  had  missed 
many  days  from  school, 
assured  me  that  it  was 
quite  necessary,  as  he 
had   to   help   with  the 

WHEN  IT  IS  UNSPOKEN 


farm  work,  but  I  soon  found  that  "auction  sales" 
have  a  great  attraction  for  this  sturdy  son  of  the 
soil. 

"Would  you  like  to  know  what  they  do  at  these 
sales?"  he  asked. 

Before  I  could  answer  in  the  affirmative,  he 
mounted  a  chair  and  at  once  proceeded  to  give 
a  demonstration  of  how  a  farm  and  all  its  ap- 
purtenances could  be  sold  "under  the  hammer." 
The  other  children  took  an  enthusiastic  part  in 
this  performance  as  bidders  and  I,  too,  found 
myself  joining  in  the  graphic  presentation  of  a 
farm  sale. 

During  Leon's  unique  exhibition  of  salesman- 
ship I  had  been  eyeing  the  high-laced,  heavy  farm 
boots  he  was  wearing,  and  as  he  descended  from 
his  auctioneering  chair  he  said  to  me:  "You 
see  these  boots  I'm  wearing?  I  bought  them  at 
the  last  sale  I  was  at." 

"But  didn't  the  farmer  need  his  boots?"  I 
enquired. 

"What  would  he  be  wanting  his  boots  for?" 
was  the  prompt  retort.   "The  man's  dead." 

Later,  I  was  an  active  participant  in  the 
lesson  on  geography,  for  these  children  have 
vision  and  bombarded  me  with  questions  about 
places  I  had  seen  in  this  vast  homeland  of  ours. 

In  the  lesson  on  agriculture  the  older  boys 
were  eloquent  on  "wheat  growing,"  which,  of 
course,  meant  a  discussion  on  horses  and  trac- 
tors, for  how  can  wheat  be  grown  without  these 
two  sources  of  power? 

During  the  recess  period  I  was  urged  to  ac- 


I  


Pupils  at  Marquis  School. 


YOU  REIGN  OVER  IT 


12 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


JULY,  1940 


On  the  Way  Home  From  School . 


pany  them  to  the  outside,  where  they  were  plant- 
ing a  hedge  of  shrubs  which  had  been  sent  to 
the  school  from  the  Government  Experimental 
Farm  at  Indian  Head.  I  watched  with  interest 
the  "planting  and  watering,"  wondering  all  the 
while  how  many  of  these  plants  would  survive 
the  winds  and  frequent  lack  of  rain,  but  think- 
ing even  more  of  the  future  of  these  frank, 
great-hearted  boys  of  the  West.  May  they,  re- 
-  gardless  of  what  the  future  may  hold  for  them, 
retain  the  good  influences  of  their  present  Catho- 
lic environment  and  survive  the  materialistic, 
"winds"  and  atheistic  "droughts"  of  present-day 
neo-paganism ! 

The  day  passed  all  too  quickly  and  when 
school  was  dismissed  I  was  told  that  my  day 
would  not  be  complete  without  a  visit  to  the 
stable  to  see  the  horses.  Nearly  all  these  chil- 
dren drive  to  school.  As  I  stood  in  the  stable, 
surrounded  by  the  crowd,  the  boys  begged  me  to 
say  which  horse  I  thought  the  finest — but  here 
was  the  place  for  me  to  show  discretion. 

As  they  all  drove  away,  headed  towards 
home,  waving  "good-bye"  and  calling  out  for 
me  to  "come  soon  again,"  I  confess  there  was  a 
temptation  to  envy  those  to  whom  it  is  given  to 
mould  and  form  the  characters  of  rural  boys 


CANADA'S  GREATEST  ASSET. 

"If  I  were  asked  what  is  the  greatest  asset  the 
Canadian  Nation  possess,  I  would  answer  that  it 
is  probably  not  its  gold  reserves,  its  mineral 
wealth,  its  raw  materials,  its  rich  soil  or  other 
such  natural  resources,  but  the  courageous  spirit 
of  the  people,  a  spirit  which  breathes  an  unquench- 
able faith  in  the  country's  future." — Sir  E.  W. 
Beatty. 


A  man  isn't  poor  if  he  can  slid  laugh. 

A  LITTLE 


THE  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  A  TRUE 
MISSIONARY 

ONE  of  the  greatest  missionaries  Western 
Canada  has  ever  known  was  dear  old 
Father  Lacombe,  O.M.I.  Many  beautiful 
things  have  been  written  about  him.  But  no 
one  has  better  described  him  than  the  Indians 
themselves  among  whom  he  lived  and  laboured 
all  his  lifetime.  The  Crees  called  him,  "THE  MAN 
WITH  THE  BEAUTIFUL  SOUL,"  and  the 
Blackfeet  named  him,  "THE  MAN  OF  THE 
GOOD  HEART." 

The  keen  eye  of  those  roaming  children  of  the 
prairie  soon  discovered  the  outstanding  char- 
acteristics of  the  true  Catholic  missionary.  The 
very  names  they  gave  him  in  their  picturesque 
language  prove  this.  For  primitive  people  name 
things  and  persons  by  those  very  features  which 
vividly  appeal  to  them. 

"The  Man  with  the  Beautiful  Soul!"  .  .  .  . 
We  remember  having  met  good  old  Father  La- 
combe shortly  before  his  death.  We  will  never 
forget  the  peaceful  features  of  that  venerable  old 
missionary.  He  was  then  an  old  man.  Yet  in 
his  features  one  could  read  a  childlike  simplicity 
and  innocence  of  soul. 

Innocence  of  life  and  detachment  from  the 
world  are  essential  factors  of  a  true  missionary. 
Is  not  his  only  aim  in  life  to  be  about  "the 
Heavenly  Father's  business."  To  that  sublime 
purpose  he  has  dedicated  his  existence.  If  he 
lives  up  to  that  sublime  ideal,  is  there  any  won- 
der that  lie  will  be  known  by  all  as  "the  man 
with  the  beautiful  soul?" 

"The  Man  of  the  Good  Heart."  ...  Of  Father 
Lacombe  one  may  say  that  like  His  Master,  "He 
went  about  doing  good."  He  once  said  of  a 
tribe  of  Blackfeet:  "They  did  not  want  my  re- 
ligion, but  they  liked  me."  His  kindness  to  the 
poor  Indians  broke  down  all  barriers.  He  loved 
them  and  they  loved  him.  "His  good  heart," 
was  the  secret  of  the  success  of  his  apostolate. 

Kindness,  inspired  by  the  love  of  God,  is  the 
very  quintessence  of  a  missionary's  soul.  Noth- 
ing, not  even  ingratitude,  can  ruffle  the  heart  of 
one  whose  motto  in  life  is  that  of  the  Master: 
"Learn  of  Me  that  I  am  meek  and  humble  of 
heart." 

Kindness  is  like  the  warm  rays  of  the  sun. 
Before  it,  the  cold  ice  of  religious  indifference 
and  open  antagonism  gradually  melts  away.  The 
human  heart  is  hardly  ever  impervious  to  kind- 
ness. 

The  Indians  iised  to  say  that  Father  Lacombe 
"carried  with  him  the  truce  of  God."  Is  not  that 
the  sublime  mission  of  the  Catholic  apostolate? 
And  to  fulfill  it  adequately  the  missionary  must 
be  "a  man  with  a  beautiful  soul  .  .  .  and  a  good 
heart,"  like  our  saintly  Father  Lacombe. 

G.  DALY,  C.SS.R, 

LEARNING  IS  NOT  A  DANGEROUS  THING  TO  ONE 


JULY,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


13 


A  STRIKING 

UNBRIDLED  nationalism  has  to-day  turned 
Europe  into  a  vasl  military  camp  and 
bloody  battlefields.  Christian  civilization 
is  at  stake  in  that  titanic  struggle  which  has  un- 
leashed all  the  terrific  powers  of  modern  war- 
fare. The  whole  world  is  awaiting  with  poig- 
nant anxiety  the  final  issue  of  the  European 
conflict. 

While  over  in  the  Old  World,  through  the 
unhappy  play  of  circumstance,  men  slaughter  one 
another  and  their  wives  and  children  worship 
God  in  fear  and  trembling;  here  in  the  New 
World,  blood  relations  of  these  same  men  and 
women  join  in  brotherly  love  to  openly  proclaim 
their  fidelity  to  God  and  Church. 

The  Corpus  Christi  Procession  held  annually 
in  Camp  Morton  is  the  happy  means  of  bringing 
together  the  different  national  groups  from  the 
surrounding  mission  churches. 

An  hour  before  Mass  begins,  the  Churchyard 
is  alive  with  these  good  Christian  people,  full 
of  laughter  and  the  love  of  God.  There  by  the 
Rectory  can  be  seen  a  gathering  of  Hungarian 
women,  attracting  our  gaze  with  their  vivid  head 
scarves  and  flashing  smiles.  The  Poles,  who 
have  come  in  from  three  districts,  form  the 
largest  visiting  group.  Their  courtly  manners 
and  musical  speech  would  distinguish  them  in 
any  gathering.  With  the  Poles  is  a  small  party 
of  Slovaks,  who  are  not  numerous  enough  to 
have  their  own  little  church.  The  residents  of 
Camp  Morton,  Germans  all,  are  very  much  in  the 
majority.  Big.  fair  and  good-natured,  they  seem 
to  be  everywhere.  One  group  leans  against  the 
fence,  enjoying  the  antics  of  some  small  boys, 
frolicing  on  the  grass ;  not  too  engrossed  in 
this  occupation,  however,  to  forbear  exchanging 
banter  with  the  pretty  maidens  by  the  gate. 

A  shout  goes  up:  "Here  comes  the  Ukrain- 
ians !"  And  riding  up  through  the  dust  appear 
two  truckloads  of  our  Greek  Catholic  brethren 
to  join  us  in  our  festival. 

All  are  present  now,  the  Swedisli  caretaker 
of  the  church,  the  French  choir  mistress,  the 
Italians  from  the  camp,  the  Germans,  the  Poles, 
the  Hungarians,  the  Slovaks,  the  Ukrainians,  the 
English  and  the  Irish. 

As  the  hour  of  Mass  draws  near,  the  little 
flower  girls  over  at  the  Convent  are  being  lined 
up  and  admonished  regarding  their  deportment. 
Prom  the  Rectory  emerges  the  tall  form  of  the 
pastor,  whose  homeland  is  Poland.  Approaching 
one  of  the  German  youths  he  calls:  "Hi,  Karl, 
do  you  think  you  are  strong  enough  to  ring  the 
bell?"  With  a  sheepish,  "I'll  try,  Father,"  Karl 
moves  his  one  hundred  and  ninety  pounds  of 

WHO  DOES  NOT  MISTAKE  IT  FOR   A  GREAT  1)1 ; 


CONTRAST 

brawn  towards  the  bell  tower  amid  the  general 
laughter  of  the  onlookers. 

With  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  jests  and  rail- 
lery cease.  The  crowd  surges  towards  the  church, 
but  halts  again  to  make  a  passage  for  the  little 
veiled  girls.  For  years  we  have  been  dressing 
little  "iris  in  veils  for  Church  festivities,  and 
we  are  still  of  the  opinion  that  there  is  no  more 
heart-catching  sight  than  they. 

Mass  is  being  said  by  a  retired  English  Mon- 
signor,  who  lives  in  Camp  Morton.  His  venerable 
figure  lends  an  added  dignity  to  the  majestic 
ceremony. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mass  the  Procession 
forms.  Directly  behind  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
walk  the  Poles  and  Slovaks,  who  are  privileged 
to  be  the  singers,  from  the  church  to  the  first 
altar.  As  the  Procession  moves  slowly  along  the 
tree-bordered  road  towards  the  lake,  their  voices 
burst  forth  in  a  mighty  hymn  of  praise.  The 
language  is  strange  to  us,  but  the  sentiments  of 
their  hearts  are  not.  Difference  of  speech  cannot 
make  true  aliens  of  those  who  are  united  with 
us  in  Christ. 

In  the  distance  we  can  see  the  altar  erected 
by  the  Superintendent  of  the  Camp  gardens,  an 
Englishman.  He  and  a  Polish  youth  are  engaged 
in  lighting  the  candles  as  we  approach.  Rever- 
ently the  congregation  kneels  on  the  grass  while 
Benediction  is  given. 

There  are  no  fashionable  people  here,  just 
poor  simple  folk,  who  are  bent  and  stiff  at  middle 
age  from  heavy  farm  toil.  As  one  sees  the  Rosary 
beads  slip  with  difficulty  through  their  roughened, 
knotted  fingers,  the  apt  remark  of  the  late  Will 
Rogers  comes  to  mind:  "What  the  world  needs 
to-day  is  dirtier  finger  nails  and  cleaner  minds." 

Now  the  Procession  lines  up  to  go  to  the 
next  altar.  The  Poles  and  Slovaks  retire  to  the 
rear,  giving  their  place  to  the  German  section. 
Loud  and  right  heartily  are  the  German  hymns 
rendered,  symbolical  of  the  deep-seated  faith  of 
this  race,  which  has  adorned  the  Church  with 
such  saints  as  Gertrude,  Albert  the  Great  and 
Mechtilde. 

A  bit  of  beautiful  England  seems  to  stretch 
before  us  as  we  slowly  reach  the  wooded  park- 
land lying  on  the  bank  of  the  shimmering  lake. 
High  above  our  heads  fleecy  clouds  sail  leisurely 
by.  Behind  the  altar  stands  a  miniature  English 
castle,  its  flag  floating  gently  in  the  breeze. 

After  Benediction  here,  the  Germans  give  way 
to  the  young  people  of  all  nationalities,  who  are 
to  express  their  delight  in  the  Divine  Presence 
in  English.  This  they  do  admirably.  When  the 
third  altar  is  reached  the  Hungarians  are  ready 


14 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


JULY,  1940 


to  lake  their  place.  This  group,  who  do  not  come 
under  the  care  of  our  pastor,  assemble  Sunday 
after  Sunday  in  their  little  chapel,  set  in  the 
forest,  to  sing  the  Mass  through,  although  they 
seldom  have  the  privilege  of  assisting  at  the  Holy 
Sacrifice.  We  all  know  that  the  fervour  of  their 
singing  is  simply  the  outward  manifestation  of 
what  is  in  their  hearts. 

The  Greek  Catholics  of  the  Ruthenian  rite 
replace  the  Hungarians  at  the  next  altar.  The 
mothers  who  have  carried  two-year-olds  in  their 
arms  during  the  hour's  walk,  seem  to  be  obeying 
literally  our  Lord's  request:  "Come  to  me  all 
you  that  labour  and  are  burdened,  and  I  will  re- 
fresh you."  The  spirited  singing  gives  no  slight- 
est indication  of  weariness  among  them ;  yet  they 
left  home  early  this  morning  and  it  is  now  Hear- 
ing two  o'clock. 

As  we  follow  in  their  wake  we  are  moved  to 
thank  God  for  the  privilege  that  has  been  ours 
these  last  few  years,  of  seeing  the  annual  exem- 
plification of  brotherly  love  truly  realized  in  the 
following  of  Christ. 

This  harmonious  blending  of  nationalities  in 
the  unity  of  the  Faith  as  manifested  in  this  re- 
ligious celebration,  stands  out  in  sharp  con- 
trast with  the  warring  Europe  of  to-day.  Far 
away  from  the  battlefields  of  their  former  coun- 
tries, these  ethnical  groups  live  in  peace  under 
the  Canadian  flag  and  render  to  God,  our  Blessed 
Saviour,  His  Holy  Mother,  and  His  Church,  a 
public  homage  which  they  would  not  be  now  al- 
lowed to  give  had  they  remained  "Over  There." 

S.O.S. 


A  NOBLE  EXAMPLE 

Dear  Sisters: 

Our  teachers  told  us  about  the  Catechetical  Cor- 
respondence Course  and  we  wish  to  help  you  in  this 
work  by  enrolling  a  child  for  the  entire  seven  year 
course. 

We  have  collected  the  enclosed  five  dollars  by 
means  of  a  Bingo  and  Concert,  and  we  are  happy  to 
be  able  to  help  the  little  children  who  have  not  the 
chance  that  we  have  to  learn  our  religion. 

Would  it  be  possible  for  us  to  obtain  the  name 
and  address  of  the  child  chosen?  We  then  could 
send  him  or  her  some  of  our  work  done  in  catechism 
and  some  Catholic  magazines,  etc.  Whatever  you 
decide  will  be  agreeable  to  us. 

We  remain,  dear  Sisters, 

BOYS  and  GIRLS  OF  GRADES  V  and  VI. 

This  letter  needs  no  comment.  Every  word 
breathes  the  missionary  spirit  that  animates  the 
pupils  of  such  a  school.  When  reading  it  we 
could  not  help  thinking  of  how  quickly  our 
"Stamp  Problem"  would  be  solved  if  all  our 
Eastern  Catholic  Schools  would  "go  and  do 
likewise." 


Prayer  .  .  .  Prayer 

"The  Popes  in  times  of  stress  always  call  us 
to  prayer.  During  the  reign  of  the  late  Holy 
Father  after  one  such  appeal  I  remember  reading 
an  article  in  a  foreign  paper  which  sneered  at 
the  weapon  suggested  by  the  Vicar  of  Christ. 

"In  a  Europe  resounding  with  the  tramp  of 
marching  men  and  the  smoke  of  the  cannon  roll- 
ing over  the  plains  and  the  high  seas,  with  ma- 
chines that  deal  destruction,  cleaving  the  clouds, 
and  the  peril  that  moves  in  darkness  beneath 
the  waves,  it  is  not  easy  to  believe  that  any  other 
forces  than  these  can  bring  an  end  to  the  horrors 
of  war. 

"The  mention  of  such  a  weapon  as  prayer 
will  undoubtedly  bring  a  smile  to  the  lips  of 
those  who  regard  material  force  as  the  only  pos- 
sible means  of  settling  difficulties.  One  might 
retaliate  and  point  out.  as  the  Holy  Father  does 
in  his  encyclical  letter  to  the  world,  that  the 
present  state  of  Europe  is  the  result  of  the  neglect 
of  the  spiritual  values  which  Jesus  Christ  taught 
us  and  of  the  worship  of  material  might.  One 
might  rejoin  that  if  prayer  be  scoffed  at  as  futile, 
materialism  has  not  much  to  show  for  its  work 
in  the  world.    It  has  led  us  to  this  sorry  pass.  .  .  . 

"It  remains  true,  nevertheless,  that  the  world 
and  its  kings  and  statesmen  are  in  the  hands  of 
the  Creator,  that  armies  and  navies  and  aircraft 
are  in  the  hollow  of  His  hands,  and  that  our 
prayers,  seen  in  the  eternally  present  vision  of 
God,  are  more  powerful  than  any  other  means 
to  bring  the  blessings  of  a  just  and  ordered  peace 
to  a  world  weighed  down  by  most  grievous  suf- 
fering."—  (Mgr.  Godfrey.  Apostolic  Delegate  in 
England). 


PLACE  YOUR  HOPES  IN  MARY. 

"Raise  your  prayers  and  your  praises  to  Mary 
who  alone  can  use  her  intercession  in  this  hour 
of  sorrow  and  of  fear,"  the  Holy  Father  told 
pilgrims  at  the  Vatican  recently. 

"We  place  our  hopes  in  the  mercy  and  pro- 
tection of  Mary  at  this  time  when  angry  clouds, 
the  colour  of  death,  mass  over  the  earth,"  said 
His  Holiness. 

"God  weighs  the  nations  in  the  scales  of  jus- 
tice and  the  intervention  of  the  Queen  of  Peace 
alone  can  influence  His  heart. 

"Grant  that  God,  "Who  commands  the  winds 
and  the  oceans,  may  also  bring  peace  to  this 
Tempest  that  shakes  the  hearts  of  men.  and  give 
us  peace  once  more. 

"And  let  us  thank  God,  too.  when  the  temp- 
est ends." 


THE  RLESSEDNESS  OF  LIFE  DEPENDS  MORE   UPON    ITS    1  NT K  RESTS    THAN    UPON    ITS  COMFORTS 


JULY,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


15 


MARIAN  CRUSADERS 


At  (nit  ion,  ( 'rusadcrs ! 


KITTY  CRUSOE 

(  By  the  Captain) 

Little  Kitty  Crusoe  lived  with  his  mother  and 
sister  in  a  neat  little  house  called  "Lockernest." 
For  a  long  time  they  were  all  happy  and  con- 
tented, but  Kitty  was  very  handsome  and  so 
many  people  told  him  about  it  that  at  last  he 
grew  very  vain  and  decided  he  must  go  out 
into  the  world  and  show  himself  to  everybody. 

So  one  fine  day  he  ran  off  to  sea,  having  first 
cleaned  his  shiny  black  coat  until  it  shone.  But 
the  boat  had  not  gone  far  when  it  was  caught 
in  a  terrible  storm.  Soon  the  ship  turned  over 
and  Kitty  found  himself  drenched  and  shivering, 
clinging  to  a  broken  mast.  The  big  waves  tossed 
him  here  and  dashed  him  there.  Poor  Kitty 
was  very  miserable  for,  like  all  cats,  he  hated 
water,  but  he  held  on  to  the  mast  bravely  and 
presently  a  big  wave  threw  him  with  a  bang  on 
the  beach  of  a  desert  island. 

Kitty  had  just  enough  strength  to  drag  his 
bruised  body  out  of  reach  of  the  waves.  Then 
he  fell  fast  asleep  from  exhaustion.  When  he 
awoke  the  sun  was  shining  brightly  and  he  was 
ravenously  hungry,  so  he  set  out  to  explore  the 
island  and  find  some  food. 

It  was  a  very  interesting  desert  island.  Kitty 
was  in  luck  for  he  found  a  whole  box  of  herrings 
that  had  been  washed  ashore  from  the  ship. 
There  was  no  danger  of  starvation,  but  Kitty 
soon  began  to  be  lonesome.  "Somebody  to  talk 
to,  that's  what  I  want,"  he  said  to  himself.  "If 
I  have  to  stay  here  long  I'll  be  forgetting  the 
Cat  language." 

He  hung  his  shirt  up  on  a  tall  tree  as  a  signal 
of  distress,  hoping  some  passing  ship  would 
come  to  his  rescue. 

Two  more  clays  passed  and  nothing  happen- 
ed. Then  Kitty  having  gone  exploring  to  the 
other  end  of  the  island  one  morning,  spied  a  huge 
creature  on  the  beach.  Dodging  behind  a  bush 
he  lay  trembling  for  a  while,  scarce  able  to 
move.  Presently,  regaining  courage,  he  peeped 
again  at  the  monster.  It  was  a  frightful  savage 
of  the  fierce  Bow-Wow  tribe,  with  gleaming 
teeth,  feathered  head-dress  and  a  long,  sharp 
spear.  Poor  Kitty  wriggled  away  as  silently  as 
he  could  for  he  knew  if  the  savage  once  got  a 
glimpse  of  him  he  need  expect  no  mercy. 

For  a  week  Crusoe  kept  cover.  Then  there 
came  a  morning  when  there  wasn't  a  herring  left 
in  the  box.  Kitty  decided  it  would  be  better  to 
risk  being  caught  by  the  savage  than  to  starve 
to  death,  so  he  ventured  put  in  the  direction  of 
the  tree  on  which  he  had  hung  the  signal. 

THOSE  AVHO  BRING  SUNSHINE  TO  THE  LIVES  OF  OTHERS  CANNOT  KEEP  IT  FROM  THEIR  OWN. 


Dear  Crusaders: — 

Warm,  sunny  days 
arc  with  us  again  and 
you  are  all  enjoying 
the  relaxation  of  well- 
earned  holidays.  May 
this  period  of  rest 
from  regular  work  be 
used  by  each  one  of 
\  you  as  an  opportunity 

\  for   the  strengthening 

fl  \  of  body  and  soul! 

V  \  The    dread  shadow 

V  of  war  hangs  over  Eu- 

rope.    We  cannot  tell 
^|^.  what  the  future  holds. 

In  the  war-devastated 
areas  many  young  peo- 
ple of  your  age  are 
homeless  and  starving;  many  more  are  living  in 
hourly  dread  of  death  by  way  of  air,  land  and  sea. 
It  is  our  duty  to  pray  fervently  that  God  may 
send  victory  to  our  soldiers  so  that  these  dread 
conditions  may  cease  and  peace  once  more  reign 
among  the  nations  and  in  the  hearts  of  men. 

And  for  ourselves — let  us  be  prepared  to 
fight  for  God  and  our  Faith  to  the  bitter  end. 
The  best  way  to  secure  victory  in  this  struggle 
is  to  train  ourselves,  with  God's  help,  in  self- 
control,  for  he  who  conquers  self  need  fear  no 
exterior  enemy. 

Let  us  pray  that  our  arms  may  be  victorious, 
but  let  us  pray  even  more  that  hearts  may  be 
cleansed  from  the  pride,  selfishness  and  ambition 
which  lie  at  the  root  of  all  war  and  injustice. 

The  Captain.'  M.C. 


INTERPRETATION. 

an  explanation  of 


A  pupil  asked  to  write 
those  well-known  lines: 


"Two  men  looked  out  through  prison  bars, 
One  saw  mud — the  other  stars." 

sent  in  the  following  illuminating  paragraph : 
"The  two  men  were  looking  out  of  the  prison 
window.  There  was  lots  of  mud  on  the  ground. 
One  of  the  men  threw  a  big  handful  of  mud  at 
the  other  man  and  this  made  him  see  stars." 


16 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


JULY,  1940 


"Surely,"  he  thought,  "someone  must  have 
seen  the  shirt  before  this  if  it  hasn't  blown 
away." 

Cautiously  he  crept  to  the  tree.  Yes,  the 
signal  was  there,  but  it  had  somehow  been  blown 
around  a  cocoanut  and  was  not  easy  to  see. 

"I'll  have  to  climb  up  and  fix  it,"  said  Kitty 
to  himself.  But  even  as  he  put  his  paws  on  the 
tree  there  came  a  whizzing  sound  through  the 
air  and  the  sharp  spear  of  the  savage  flashed 
past  him,  missing  his  head  by  less  than  an  inch. 

Kitty  Crusoe  ran  up  that  tree  like  lightning. 
He  was  so  frightened  that  he  never  stopped  until 
the  very  top  was  reached.  Then  he  looked  down 
through  the  thick  leaves  that  screened  him. 
There  at  the  bottom  of  the  tree  was  the  savage, 
growling  horribly  and  showing  all  his  cruel- 
looking  teeth.  How  thankful  Kitty  was  that  he 
had  learned  to  climb  so  well  at  home !  For,  as 
everybody  knows,  the  Bow-Wow  savages  can  do 
no  climbing  at  all. 

However,  Kitty  soon  found  he  was  in  a  pretty 
bad  plight,  for  the  savage  took  up  a  position  at 
the  foot  of  the  tree  and  moved  neither  day  nor 
night. 

Kitty  fixed  his  signal  properly  and  hoped 
earnestly  that  someone  would  come  to  his  rescue. 
After  two  days  he  was  so  ravenously  hungry 
that  he  began  chewing  the  tree  branches  for  the 
juice. 

On  the  third  day  he  was  overjoyed  to  see  a 
boat  sailing  swiftly  towards  the  island.  It  was 
Prince  Pixie  from  the  Next  Island  But  One  com- 
ing to  his  rescue.  Prince  Pixie  had  seen  the 
signal  three  days  ago  but  he  had  had  a  pain  in 
his  great  toe  and  besides  in  the  Next  Island  But 
One  they  always  do  everything  slowly. 

Kitty  was  so  excited  at  the  prospect  of  being 
rescued  that  he  almost  ran  straight  down  into 
the  savage's  arms,  but  caught  himself  just  in 
time. 

"What  am  I  to  do?"  he  thought  anxiously. 
"If  I  wait  here  the  savage  may  kill  Prince  Pixie 
and  I'll  be  no  better  off  than  before." 

Suddenly  a  bright  idea  came  to  Kitty.  Eag- 
erly he  began  gnawing  through  the  stem  of  a 
coconut  that  hung  over  the  Bow-Wow's  head. 
Presently  it  dropped  with  a  bang,  hitting  the 
savage  on  one  of  his  front  paws. 

With  a  howl  of  rage  and  pain  it  rushed  into 
the  bushes.  In  a  twinkling  Kitty  was  down  the 
tree  and  rushing  towards  the  shore  and  safety. 

•  When  the  savage  saw  this  he  was  very  angry 
and  started  in  full  chase.  The  paw  that  had 
been  hit  by  the  coconut  kept  him  back  a  little. 
Yet  he  could  run  faster  than  Kitty  and  was  soon 
gaining.  Poor  Kitty!  It  was  so  hard  to  run 
over  the  soft  slippery  sand.  Once  he  tripped 
over  a  stone,  but  was  up  immediately  and  run- 
ning faster  than  ever. 

Then  Prince  Pixie  jumped  ashore  with  a  great 


shout  that  frightened  the  savage  so  much  that 
he  stopped  a  few  moments.  Kitty  struggled  on 
and  at  last  fell  all  anyhow  at  Prince  Pixie's 
pink  feet. 

The  next  moment  the  two  of  them  had  climb- 
ed into  the  boat  and  were  sailing  swiftly  towards 
the  Next  Island  But  One,  while  the  savage  bark- 
ed disappointedly  on  the  beach. 

Prince  Pixie  promised  to  take  Kitty  Crusoe 
home  to  "Locker nest"  and  you  may  be  sure  he 
never  tried  to  run  away  from  home  again. 


GOOD  MANNERS 

Good  manners  are  the  greatest  charms  one 
can  possess.  Young  people  should  cultivate 
them  assiduously.  Money  cannot  buy  them. 
There  is  only  one  way  to  obtain  good  manners, 
and  that  is  by  constant  practice.  Always  use 
good  manners  at  home  and  at  school,  then  you 
need  not  be  alarmed  when  among  strangers,  for 
it  will  be  perfectly  natural  to  be  polite  and  re- 
spectful to  all. 

Remember,  that  politeness  is  of  great  value, 
yet  costs  nothing  but  your  own  pains  to  acquire 
and  that: 

"To  be  polite  is  to  always  do  and  say 
'Die  kindest  things  in  the  kindest  way." 


ENJOY  WITHOUT  COVETING 

"You  had  better  not  take  the  girls  down 
Catherine  Street,"  said  a  mother  jokingly,  to  the 
girls'  aunt.  "They  want  so  many  things  in  the 
shop  windows  that  you'll  be  a  beggar  when  you 
come  back,  if  you  are  not  careful." 

"Not  a  bit  of  it!  Not  a  bit  of  it!"  said  Aunt 
Mary.  "I'll  lead  them  right  up  to  all  the  flower 
stores,  art  stores,  hat  shops,  and  confectioneries 
and  let  them  press  their  noses  against  the  pane. 
It's  a  good  thing  to  learn  to  see  and  to  admire 
beautiful  things  without  being  discontented  be- 
cause we  can't  have  them." 

You  can  enjoy  looking  at  a  pretty  thing  even 
of  you  cannot  have  it,  and  there  is  no  finer  dis- 
position than  that  of  the  girl  who  enjoys  other 
people's  beautiful  things." 


New  Employer:  "Are  you  familiar  with 
mules?" 

Negro  Stableman:  "No.  sir.  Ah  knows  'cm 
too  well  to  get  familiar." 


THE  GREATEST  BUSINESS  IN   LIFE  IS  TO  HE,  TO  DO,  AND  TO  DO  WITHOUT 


OCTOBER,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


Fifty  Years  of  Service 


1890 


1940 


On  October 
5th,  1940,  our 
dear  Father 
a  n  d  Founder, 
Rev.  George 
Daly,  C.SS.R., 
attained  the  fif- 
tieth year  of 
his  Religious 
Pro  fession  in 
the    Order  of 

the  Most  Holy  Redeemer.  Eighteen  of  these 
fifty  years  have  been  spent  in  the  formation  and 
guidance  of  our  young  Community.  Little  won- 
der, then,  that  October  5th  was  a  "Big  Day"  for 
the  Sisters  of  Service,  and  that  the  happy  event 
was  celebrated  with  joyful  enthusiasm  in  every 
S.O.S.  mission  throughout  Canada. 

At  the  Mother  House  in  Toronto  the  cele- 
brations began  with  the  singing  of  a  High  Mass 
in  the  Convent  Chapel.  This  Mass,  of  which  our 
reverend  Jubilarian  was  the  celebrant,  was  at- 
tended by  every  Sister  of  Service  in  Toronto, 


Our  Beloved  Jubilarian — Reverend  George  Daly,  C.Ss.R. 


including  the 
novices  and 
postulants. 

After  the 
Jubilee  M  ass, 
all  a  s  s  e  mbled 
in  the  Recep- 
tion Room, 
where  Fat  her 
Daly  received 
the  congratula- 
tions and  good  wishes  of  those  who  had  the  pri- 
vilege of  being  present.  A  beautiful  hand-decor- 
ated Souvenir  Booklet,  containing  a  message  from 
each  mission,  was  presented  to  Father  in  testi- 
mony of  the  heartfelt  appreciation  of  the  Sisters 
of  Service  for  the  many  years  he  has  so  unselfish- 
ly devoted  to  the  service  of  the  Institute. 

It  is  with  pleasure  that  we  take  yet  another 
opportunity  of  extending  to  Father  our  grateful 
thanks  and  of  wishing  him  from  full  hearts  every 
joy  and  blessing. 

SISTERS  OF  SERVICE. 


DEEDS  ARE  FRUITS,  WORDS  ARE  LEAVES. 


2 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


OCTOBER,  1940 


'orcnoLic; 


national: 


I 

I 

1 
1 


E  DI OR  I  /\  L  "fli 


GOD  NEEDS  YOU 


IN  the  present  scheme  of  divine  Redemption 
God  needs  the  help  and  co-operation  of  man 
to  spread  His  Kingdom  upon  earth.  "Without 
this  aid  the  longing  desires  of  our  Saviour's  heart 
remain  unanswered  and  to  a  large  extent  ineffec- 
tive. The  missionaries,  be  they  priests,  brothers 
or  sisters,  are  the  heralds  who  bring  the  glad 
tidings  of  His  Gospel  to  nations.  They  form  the 
expeditionary  forces  of  the  Church  in  her  advance 
march  throughout  the  world.  To  support  them 
by  our  prayers  and  alms  is  to  share  in  their  apos- 
tolate.  It  is  simply  marvelous  what  could  be 
done  for  the  Church  were  this  co-operation  of  the 
Catholic  laity  more  universal. 

Yet  what  Catholic  worthy  of  the  faith  of  his 
baptism  can  say  that  this  is  none  of  his  business 
or  give  to  it  but  a  passing  attention.  It  is  our 
business  and  the  greatest  of  all  businesses.  Is  not 
the  Church  of  God  the  very  heart  of  the  world  ? 
She  is  the  Society  ordained  by  God  to  lead  man 
to  his  eternal  destiny.  This  world  is  but  a  passing 
shadow.  The  eternal  interests  are  the  only  ones 
that  count.  These  interests  that  do  not  pass  with 
the  lengthening  shadows  of  this  life  are  those  in 
which  the  Church  is  principally  concerned.  Are 
we  not  indeed  more  the  citizens  of  an  invisible 
world  than  the  creatures  of  a  visible  one?  It  is 
just  because  our  interests  are  centred  on  the 
visible,  without  any  thought  of  the  invisible,  that 
the  visible  world  of  to-day  is  in  such  a  distressing 
state.  Unbridled  nationalism  and  insane  racial- 
ism have  brought  Christian  civilization  to  the 
present  desperate  pass.  The  only  way  to  bring 
back  sanity  to  nations  is  to  extend  the  influence 
of  the  supra-national  and  supra-racial  society 
of  the  Church. 

The  Church  of  God  is  above  Nations.  She  blesses 


ATTKNl)  TO  THK    \I)VI<  K  OF  HJM  WHO  liOVKS  Y()l    THOl  OH  YOl    I  1 K  I    IT  NOT  AT  PRESENT 


or  condemns  them  as  they  file  down  the  avenue 
of  centuries  with  their  cavalcade  of  marching 
armies  or  pageantry  of  victories.  They  come  and 
go ;  She  goes  on  forever.  For  nations,  as  such, 
do  not  exist  beyond  the  borders  of  this  life.  They 
are  therefore  rewarded  or  punished  here  below. 
The  retribution  seems  at  times  slow  in  coming. 
We  forget  that  the  life  of  nations  is  measured 
not  by  years  but  by  centuries.  We  are  not  al- 
lowed to  see  in  advance  that  perspective  which 
belongs  to  history. 

The  horizon  of  to-day  is  dark.  This  darkness 
in  the  pathway  of  nations  is  but  the  shadow  of 
Divine  Providence.  This  shadow  is  the  presence 
of  the  Church  among  nations.  May  it,  like  the 
shadow  of  Peter  as  he  walked  the  streets  of 
Jerusalem,  overshadow  the  Christian  nations  sick 
unto  death  and  "deliver  them  from  their  infirmi- 
ties."   (Acts  v.  15). 

This  gigantic  task  of  regeneration  now  awaits 
each  individual  Catholic.  God  needs  him  to  do 
this  work.  He  will  accomplish  it  by  leading  an 
exemplary  life  and  by  participating  in  the  mis- 
sionary effort  of  the  Church.  For  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Church  is  the  primary  work  of  Catho- 
lic missions,  and  it  is  the  Church,  and  the  Church 
alone,  that  will  now  save  the  nations  from  total 
destruction. 


OCTOBER,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


3 


(  S 


harWst7ts|^ 


In  the  Home-Mission  Field  1 


SUMMER  WORK  IN  SASKATCHEWAN 


"SHEEMY." 

NO,  Sheemy  is  not  a  new  dance,  a  breakfast 
food  or  the  latest  in  feminine  apparel. 
"Sheemy"  is  merely  a  little  grey  horse,  a 
patient  little  grey  horse  who  played  quite  a  part 
in  our  Religious  Summer  School  activities. 

We  were  introduced  to  ' '  Sheemy ' '  in  this  manner. 
As  you  know,  our  Sisters  go  out  into  the  country 
during  the  summer  months  teaching  Catechism 
to  those  little  ones  of  Christ's  flock  who  have  little 
opportunity  of  hearing  about  Him  during  the 
year.  We  had  been  out  for  nearly  a  month  when 
we  met  "Sheemy,"  and  Sheemy's  little  corner  of 
Saskatchewan  was  our  last  calling  place.  We  found 
a  school  there  wherein  to  teach,  and  we  found 
a  group  of  children  eager  to  be  taught.  The  good 
missionary  priest,  who  has  what  we  might  call  a 
small  diocese  as  his  parish,  had  seen  to  that,  but 
the  difficulty  was  that  there  was  no 
accommodation  for  the  Sisters  near 
the  school.  Here  the  kind  people  who 
owned  "Sheemy"  came  to  our  rescue 
and  offered  us  a  place  in  their  home, 
and  the  use  of  a  horse  and  buggy  to 
take  us  the  four  miles  to  school,  on 
condition  that  we  could  drive  our- 
selves. 

Happy  memories  of  girlhood  days 
came  back  when  I  had  ridden  a  little 
bay  horse  across  the  firm  golden  sands 
of  a  small  Sussex  sea-side  town,  so  T 
very  willingly  accepted  the  offer  of 
"Sheemy"  and  a  buggy.  You  would 
have  laughed  if  you  had  seen  us  going 
off  to  school  that  first  morning.  The 
two  of  us  perched  up  high  in  the 
buggy — my  companion  a  little  nerv- 


ous, as  it  was  a  new  experience  for  her,  while 
I  clutched  the  reins  and  hoped  for  the  best. 
"Sheemy,"  however,  behaved  perfectly.  He  took 
us  to  school  and  brought  us  back  safely  every 
day  during  our  stay  in  that  district,  and  we 
thoroughly  enjoyed  his  company. 

"The  Baddest  Boy  in  the  School." 

I  must  confess  that  I  have  a  liking  for  bad 
boys,  so  when  on  the  first  day  of  our  summer 
teaching  some  little  ones  approached  me  with 
big  eyes,  and  said  in  awestruck  tones,  "Sister, 
Thomas  says  he  is  coming  to  school."  I  immedi- 
ately became  interested. 

"Who  is  Thomas?"  I  enquired. 

"Thomas  is  the  very  baddest  boy  in  the  school, 
Sister,"  one  mite  replied  very  seriously. 

That  sounded  exciting  so  I  made  further  in- 
quiries concerning  the  notorious  Thomas. 


Sheemy  &  Co. 


A  LIFE  WITHOUT  A  PURPOSE  IS  LIKE  A  SHIP  WITHOUT  A  RUDDKK. 


4 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


OCTOBER,  1940 


"He  won't  go  to  school  when  his  father  tells 
him,  Sister,"  volunteered  another;  "he  just  hides 
all  day  in  the  bush." 

"And  he's  only  in  Grade  III,  Sister,  and  he's 
thirteen." 

"And  he  chews  gum  in  school  and  talks  back 
to  the  teacher,  Sister,  and  he  fights,"  said  another. 
Just  then  a  hush  fell  on  the  little  group,  and  they 
looked  apprehensively  towards  the  door.  I  looked, 
too,  and  I  saw  slowly  coming  in  a  barefooted, 
stocky,  small  boy,  with  a  mop  of  fair  hair,  and 
horrors !  he  had  his  tongue  out — at  me ! 

Here  was  a  situation  that  called  for  immediate 
action,  and  I  did  what  I  thought  was  the  only 
thing  possible  under  the  circumstances.  I  smiled, 
and  went  to  meet  the  newcomer  with  an  out- 
stretched, welcoming  hand.  He  stopped  short  and 
regarded  me  with  a  quizzical,  half-frightened  look, 
as  if  he  thought  there  might  be  a  catch  in  it  some- 
where, and  he  wanted  to  be  on  the  safe  side. 
Then  suddenly  making  up  his  mind  to  risk  it,  he 
grasped  my  hand  in  a  firm  grip,  and  answered 
my  smile  with  a  broad  grin.  We  then  and  there 
became  friends. 

Before  class  began  I  thought  it  might  be  well 
to  break  the  ice  with  some  candy,  so  I  called 
Thomas  up  to  the  front. 

"Thomas,"  I  said,  "will  you  give  out  this 
candy  to  the  boys  and  girls,  and  be  sure  the 
little  ones  get  their  fair  share?" 

I  always  find  making  a  child  responsible  for 
something  brings  out  the  good  that  is  always 
there,  though  often  hidden,  and  in  the  case  of 
Thomas  it  certainly  worked.  I  made  him  class 
leader  among  the  boys,  and  although  his  methods 
of  enforcing  order  were  at  times  a  trifle  drastic, 
there  were  no  bad  feelings.  He  soon  forgot 
his  attitude  of  being  "agin  the  Government,"  be- 
came really  interested  in  his  work,  and  very  anx- 
ious to  do  the  right  thing.  It  needed  a  lot  of  en- 
couragement, though,  and  even  a  little  spoiling, 
but  the  results  were  well  worth  working  for.  Dur- 
ing our  stay  in  that  district  we  trained  a  class 
of  altar  boys — boys  who  wanted  to  serve  at  the 
altar,  and  among  them  was  a  rather  shy  and 
diffident  Thomas:  "I'd  like  to  be  on  the  altar, 
Sister,  but  I  guess  I'm  too  bad."  he  said  wistfully, 
but  when  he  was  allowed  to  join  the  group  his 
excitement  was  so  great  that  he  rang  the  little 
bell  whenever  he  could  lay  his  hands  on  it,  and 
his  Latin  pronunciation  was  something  wholly 
new,  but  nevertheless  fervent.  I  feel  somehow 
that  the  Christ  who  loves  little  children  will  be 
glad  to  have  Thomas  serving  at  the  altar,  and 
I  know  that  Thomas  will  be  glad  to  be  there. 

The  Little  Girl  Who  Wouldn't  Sit  Still 

De  you  remember  when  you  were  a  child  how 
hard  it  was  to  sit  still  on  a  bright  sunny  day 
when  the  call  of  the  great  outside  came  very 
persistently  to  your  ears?     The  little  ones  we 


were  teaching  last  summer  had  school  from  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  until  three  in  the  after- 
noon, and  oh,  it  was  hot !  Of  course  we  varied 
the  programme  as  much  as  possible.  Intensive 
study  of  the  Mass,  Sacraments,  etc.,  was  inter- 
spersed with  singing,  Catechism,  Quizz  games,  the 
making  of  Project  Books  and  picture  colouring, 
but  all  the  same  for  one  little  one  at  least  it 
was  very  hard  to  sit  still  and  listen,  so  into  rest- 
less fingers  we  put  a  pencil,  and  on  the  desk  in 
front  we  placed  a  nice  clean  sheet  of  paper,  and 
invited  Nellie  to  draw. 

"You  draw,  Nellie,  while  I  am  talking,  per- 
haps you  can  draw  some  of  the  things  I  am 
talking  about,"  I  suggested.  Nellie  eagerly  fell 
in  with  the  plan,  and  many  and  fearsome  were 
the  objects  portrayed  on  the  paper,  as  Nellie 
had  a  fertile  imagination,  and  facile  fingers.  One 
thing  above  all  the  others  attracted  my  attention. 

"What's  that,  Nellie?"  I  said  pointing  to  a 
monstrous  looking  animal  made  up  of  many  pairs 
of  legs,  horns  and  wicked  eyes. 

"That's  a  sin,"  replied  Nellie,  looking  up  with 
innocent  eyes.  T  was  silent.  Little  Nellie  had 
drawn  a  truer  picture  than  she  realized. 

Religious  ideas  and  terminology  are  so  new  to 
these  little  country  children,  that  they  often 
become  confused  and  make  amusing  mistakes. 

"The  Pope,"  wrote  one  boy  in  a  test,  "knows 
and  sees  everything,  and  it  wouldn't  be  any  use 
hiding  from  him,"  and  another  had  it  that  Our 
Lord  when  He  gave  the  Apostles  the  power  to 
forgive  sins  said  "Now  I've  taken  off  your  sins, 
but  don't  do  them  again."  Another,  in  reply  to 
the  question  "What  is  the  name  of  the  present 
Pope,  and  where  does  he  live?"  replied,  "The 
Pope's  name  is  Pope  Monahan  XII,  and  he  lives 
in  Regina."  But  thouprh  their  terminology  is 
often  faulty,  these  little  ones  show  a  very  real 
understanding  and  appreciation  of  the  great 
truths  of  religion,  and  they  have  a  very  real 
desire  to  leaim  more. 

Shall  We  Let  Them  Go? 

In  writing  for  you.  Dear  Friend,  I  know  I  am 
addressing  one  who  understands.  God  has  given 
you  a  sympathetic  heart  and  the  mind  of  a  mis- 
sionary, otherwise  you  would  not  be  reading  these 
pages.  You  can  visualise  the  little  scenes  I 
have  attempted  to  describe,  and  you  realize  too 
all  the  work  there  is  to  be  done  for  souls  in  this 
great  West  of  ours.  Do  you  remember  the  words 
of  the  song  we  used  to  sing  in  the  old  days  to 
the  tune  of  "Maryland.  My  Maryland." 

"Come,  sing  with  heart  and  voice  today. 

Canada,  my  Canada. 
Together  we  will  work  and  pray. 

For  Canada,  my  Canada, 
We  may  be  young  as  yet,  'tis  true. 
But  what  we  can  we'll  surely  do. 


NO  WIND  CAN  DO  HIM  GOOD  WHO  STEERS  FOR   NO  PORT. 


OCTOBER,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


5 


To  send  God's  blessed  sunlight  through 
To  darkened  souls  in  Canada." 

Today  there  are  so  many  souls  struggling  to 
reach  the  light,  perhaps  more  than  at  any  other 
time,  for  sorrow  and  anxiety  are  bringing  people 
hack  to  God,  and,  as  you  know  it  is  our  work  to 
help  them,  to  carry  to  them  the  saving  light  of 
faith,  which  will  dispel  the  darkness  of  their 
souls.  And  your  work,  dear  Friend,  is  to  help 
ns,  by  your  prayers  and  your  sacrifices. 

During  the  summer  months  many  hundreds  of 
children,  and  adults,  too,  receive  instruction  for 
a  few  days,  but  it  is  our  privilege  here  in  Regina, 
and  in  Edmonton,  also,  to  continue  this  work  by 
"Catechism  by  Mail."  But  each  lesson  that  goes 
out,  and  thousands  go  out  during  the  year,  needs 
a  stamp,  and  we  do  not  know  where  those  stamps 
are  coming  from,  so,  dear  Friend,  if  you  want 
to  help  in  this  missionary  work,  and  I  know  you 
do,  will  you  send  us  a  few  stamps — NEW  stamps, 
and  each  stamp  will  take  a  lesson  to  a  waiting 
soul.  We  are  carrying  a  very  heavy  burden  at 
present,  and  unless  kind  friends  come  to  our 
rescue  and  send  us  stamps,  little  ones  will  ask 
for  help,  and  we  will  be  obliged  to  refuse  them. 

Home  Again 

Summer  is  now  over,  and  we  are  home  from 
the  country,  but  the  memory  of  our  Johnnies, 
Annies,  Marys  and  Mikes  will  always  be  with 
us,  and  when  times  are  hard,  and  we  feel  in- 
clined to  lay  down  the  burden  we  will  see  eager 
questioning  eyes,  little  hands  outstretched  for 
help,  and  we  will  hear  the  echo  of  happy  laugh- 
ter. We  will  see  our  "bad  boy"  Thomas,  the 
little  girl  who  couldn't  sit  still,  and  a  host  of 
others,  and  these  memories  will  impart  courage, 
and  last  of  all  we  will  hear  the  clipperty  clop  of 
"Sheemy's"  hoofs,  as  they  patiently  plod  along  the 
highway  of  our  dreams — our  dreams  of  yesterday. 


t 


Confirmation  on  an  Indian  Reserve 

JULY  found  us  once  more  amongst  the  flowers 
of  humanity  trying  to  bring  back  to  life  the 
more  faded  ones  and  to  instil  into  the  young 
tender  shoots  a  new  life  and  vigor.  On  setting 
out  we  made  our  way  North,  one  Sister  stopping 
.off  at  P.  while  the  other  went  eighteen  miles 
South.  One  could  almost  say  this  territory  is 
inhabited  by  the  "League  of  Nations"  as  fifteen 
different  nationalities  have  settled  here.  Two 
weeks  were  spent  in  these  Missions  preparing 
the  children  for  their  First  Holy  Communion 
and  for  the  reception  of  the  great  Sacrament  of 
( lonfirmation. 

During  our  stay  in  this  district  we  had  the 
privilege  of  assisting  at  a  Confirmation  which 
took  place  at  an  Indian  Reserve,  better  known 
as  "Poor  Man's  Reserve."  It  was  at  seven  in 
the  evening.  The  Indians  had  assembled  early 
in  the  afternoon,  and  for  many  anxious  hours 
had  cast  expectant  glances  towards  the  road  in 
anticipation  of  His  Excellency's  arrival.  A  few 
minutes  before  seven  three  cars  drove  up,  the 
first  bearing  the  long-expected  visitor.  As  His 
Excellency  alighted  he  donned  his  mitre,  and 
erozier  in  hand  slowly  made  his  way  towards  the 
newly  white-washed  hall  where  he  was  to  admin- 
ister Confirmation.  What  a  sight  to  see  hun- 
dreds of  Indians,  Catholic  and  pagan  alike,  kneel 
and  bow  low  in  reverence  as  their  beloved  Arch- 
bishop's hand  was  raised  in  blessing  over  them. 

The  log  hall  was  appropriately  decorated  for 
the  great  event.  Crepe  paper  streamers  hung 
from  the  ceiling,  and  were  grotesquely  wound 
around  the  posts  which  supported  the  building. 
The  Indians  came  brusquely  in,  the  younger  ones 
happily  squatting  themselves  on  either  side  of 
the  altar.  None  was  left  behind  on  an  occasion 
such  as  this,  even  the  "copper-faced  papooses" 
were  peeping  over  their  mothers'  backs  and 
rendered  quite  a  chorus  during  His  Excellency's 
sermon.  The  eyes  of  all  the  visitors  were  fasten- 
ed with  curious  intentness  on  the  cushion  on 
,which  the  Archbishop  knelt.  However,  every 
one's  curiosity  was  satisfied  when  along  came 
a  French  Padre  smiling,  and  saying,  "I  have 
seen  many  Bishops'  thrones,  but  I  no  never  see 
yet  a  bag  of  cement  for  a  cushion.  Ha!  Indian, 
original  idea,  Ah !  Yes,  yes."  His  Excellency 
gave  a  beautiful  talk,  explaining  how  God  had 
come  down  from  Heaven  to  save  all  nations, 
whether  black  or  white.  Confirmation  was  then 
administered  to  ten  adults,  all  of  whom  recited 
the  usual  prayers  before  the  Sacrament  was 
administered,  some  praying  in  Cree,  others  in 
English. 

After  the  ceremony  was  over  a  rush  wa.s 
made  for  the  door,  (in  real  Indian  style),  benches 
being  overturned  in  the  uproar.    On  coming  out 


A  LITTLE  POT  IS  SOON  HOT. 


6 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


OCTOBER,  1940 


they  squatted  upon  the  grass  while  lunch  was 
served  by  the  good  Sisters  from  the  Indian 
Schools.  The  refreshments  were  not  long  visible 
as  these  poor  Indians  had  not  eaten  since  noon 
and  by  this  time  had  developed  an  enormous 
appetite.  One  could  not  but  think  that  they 
were  a  happy  and  contented  crowd,  and  their 
devotedness  was  evident  by  the  enthusiastic  way 
in  which  they  welcomed  their  good  Shepherd  of 
Souls. 

Feeding  Souls  and  Bodies 

Summer  School  over  here,  we  both  went  to 
M.,  a  German  district  one  hundred  miles  distant. 
The  children  had  gathered  together  from  the 
three  adjoining  Missions.  They  had  come  pre- 
pared for  a  two  weeks'  session  of  good,  earnest 
Summer  School.  As  we  made  our  appearance, 
one  would  have  thought  the  Church-yard  was 
literally  producing  blankets,  loaves  of  bread, 
bags  of  vegetables,  etc.  .  .  .  Tables  were  set  up 
,in  the  basement  of  the  Church  to  feed  the  hun- 
gry students.  Each  child  had  brought  his  own 
dishes,  some  being  carefully  labelled  with  ad- 
hesive tape.  A  kind  family  generously  opened 
wide  their  doors  and  provided  the  young  travel- 
lers with  sleeping  accommodation.  At  nine 
o'clock  the  lively  regiment  was  conducted  to 
their  night  lodging.  Of  course,  one  must  admit 
they  were  still  very  un-military,  especially  if  one 
were  to  peep  through  the  window  at  dawn  and 
witness  the  boot  and  pillow-fights. 

Morning  prayers  were  said  at  seven-fifteen, 
jMass  following.  The  children  were  taught  to 
answer  Mass  in  Common,  alternating  with  the 
.singing  of  hymns.  Singing  held  a  prominent 
role  in  the  daily  programme.  The  little  ones 
had  sweet  voices,  and  showed  wonderful  im- 
provement in  two  weeks.    It  was  rather  amus- 


ing to  watch  them  make  a  tremendous  attempt 
to  master  the  Latin.  Hours  of  study  were 
allotted  them  at  night,  but  concentration  was 
,not  always  possible,  so  Joe  and  his  companion 
Teddy  chose  the  top  of  a  very  high  woodpile 
where  application  was  less  liable  to  interruption. 
Daily,  they  were  seen  perched  on  their  favorite 
•spot,  aloft  from  all  disturbing  noises. 

The  Pastor  was  the  proud  owner  of  a 
beautifully  constructed  fish-pond.  In  the  early 
stages  of  Summer  School,  fire-bushes  graeefidly 
adorned  the  little  refreshing  area  but  as  time 
wore  on,  green  grass  was  not  even  visible  owing 
to  the  heavy  traffic  of  pattering  feet.  After 
school  hours,  all  roads  led  to  the  popular  fish- 
pond, where  shoes  were  removed  and  all  splashed 
-gaily  in  the  cool  water. 

The  meals  were  taken  care  of  by  two  ladies 
who  very  generously  offered  their  services. 
Apparently,  a  surplus  of  turnips  had  been 
brought  in  and  one  young  chap  was  heard  to 
remark:  "What!  Turnips  again!  Please  give 
us  something  else,  we  get  plenty  of  them  at 
home."  However,  the  wise  and  prudent  cook 
converted  the  much  disliked  vegetable  into  a 
cream  soup,  and  all  partook  of  it  next  day.  with 
evident  relish. 

Every  evening  there  was  Benediction  of  the 
Most  Blessed  Sacrament,  during  which  the  little 
ones  sang.  Night  prayers  followed  immediately. 
Before  filing  off  to  bed  they  enjoyed  a  peanut 
scramble.  No  army  of  squirrels  could  do  more 
justice  to  the  nuts  than  this  lively  crowd  of 
youngsters.  A  picnic  was  planned  for  one  after- 
noon. The  clothes-pin  race  wras  the  most  pop- 
ular sport,  rather  had  more  lasting  results,  as  all 
that  evening  the  Sisters  were  busy  extracting 
tiny  teeth  which  had  become  loose  in  the  at- 
tempt to  hold  more  than  one  clothes-pin  in  the 
-all  too  small  mouth-piece. 

From  beginning  to  end 
the  children  showed  a  keen 
interest  in  study  and  play. 
—  They  left  us  with  happy 

^  hearts,  waving  a  last  fare- 

well and  promising  to  be 
faithful  in  answering  the 
winged  Catechism  lessons 
sent  them  from  our  S.O.S. 
Convent  in  Regina. 

S.O.S. 


Lunch  in  the  Churchyard. 


We  desired  to  be  classi- 
fied according  to  our  ex- 
ceptional virtues;  we  are 
apt  to  classify  our  neigh- 
bour according  to  his  ex- 
ceptional faults. 


A  COCKROACH  IS  ALWAYS  WHONC  WHEN  ARGUING  WITH  A  CHICKEN'. 


iBER,  1940  THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 

UP  WHERE  THE  NORTH  BEGINS 


ON  FRIDAY,  July  5th,  Sister  and  T,  with 
Father  M.  and  Father  H.  began  our  trip 
to  the  Peace  River,  where  we  were  sche- 
duled to  teach  religion  to  the  children  of  the 
Sudetens  who  settled  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
We  got  along  quite  well  over  a  very  bumpy 
road  until  12:30  p.m.  when  we  had  a  blowout. 
While  the  two  Fathers  made  the  necessary  re- 
pairs, the  two  Sisters  picked  strawberries. 

At  3  p.m.  we  reached  D.,  where  the  Provi- 
dence Sisters  of  Montreal  have  a  large  Indian 
school.  The  Oblate  Fathers  are  also  stationed 
there  and  have  a  gaily  decorated  Church  beside 
the  School.  While  the  Fathers  called  on  the 
Oblates  we  visited  the  nuns,  who  were  very 
friendly  and  showed  us  the  school.  It  is  a 
lovely  place  and  the  children  are  certainly  for- 
tunate to  have  it. 

At  4  o'clock  we  were  off  again  and  reached 
Grand  Prairie,  Father  M.'s  parish  at  8:30.  The 
Holy  Cross  Sisters  were  away,  so  Father  M. 
took  us  to  their  Convent  and  told  us  to  make 
ourselves  at  home.  We  were  glad  of  this  oppor- 
tunity to  remove  the  dust  of  the  journey  and  get 
a  good  night's  rest.  Next  morning  we  resumed 
our  journey,  leaving  Father  M.  behind,  of  course. 

We  arrived  at  Tupper  Creek  about  noon, 
visited  some  families  and  begged  some  dinner 
which  we  ate  in  Father's  living  quarters  at  the 
back  of  the  Church — a  narrow  room  built  on  to 
the  Church.  In  this  he  has  two  home-made 
bunks,  double-decker  style,  a  round  heater,  a 
table,  a  cupboard,  a  priedieu,  two  chairs,  various 
shelves  and  drawers,  a  kitchen  sink,  two  win- 
dows, a  door  leading  into  the  Church  and  one 
leading  outside. 

After  dinner  we  did  some  more  visiting  and 
then  went  on  to  Dawson  Creek,  the  Fathers' 
Headquarters,  Father  Mc.  being  in  charge.  When 
we  reported  to  him,  he  wanted  to  know  if  they 
were  to  take  us  from  Dawson  each  day  to  teach 
at  Tupper,  a  distance  of  seventeen  miles,  so 
that  we  might  sleep  at  the  hospital  in  Dawson. 
We  said  no,  as  we  could  not  put  them  to  that 
trouble  and  expense  as  well  as  loss  of  time.  So 
it  was  decided  that  we  would  occupy  Father 
H.'s  lean-to  at  Tupper,  and  he  would  borrow 
and  use  a  tent.  The  Sudeten  houses  being  just 
one  or  two-room  dwellings,  we  could  not  hope 
to  find  sleeping  accommodation  with  them. 

Arrived  at  Tupper  we  made  up  our  beds,  but 
owing  to  the  almost  continual  rains  we  found 
that  the  ground  and  boards  were  much  too  wet 
to  allow  poor  Father  to  camp  outside,  as  he 
had  no  mattress,  nothing  but  the  bare  tent. 
We  therefore  folded  his  tent,  put  it  on  the  floor 


in  the  back  of  the  Church,  added  blankets  and 
a  pillow,  and  there  he  slept  until  a  week  later. 

One  day  we  were  visiting  the  home  of  an 
old  Sudeten  couple.  The  lady,  Frau  Singer, 
showed  us  the  beds  of  her  two  absent  children 
and  offered  to  let  us  sleep  there.  We  gladly 
moved  that  very  night  and  all  was  fine  until 
the  children  began  to  come  home. 

It  was  daylight  until  ten-thirty  or  eleven  and 
most  of  the  people  remained  up  until  then, 
so  our  best  time  for  visiting  was  from  after  sup- 
per until  eleven,  as  most  of  the  family  was  at 
home  by  that  time  and  we  were  free  from  the 
children.  This  meant  we  were  late  in  getting  to 
bed  almost  every  night 

On  the  first  day  our  class  numbered  twenty- 
four — all  sizes  and  ages.  After  this  the  number 
varied  greatly  according  to  the  children's  wishes, 
or  if  there  was  work  to  do,  such  as  berrypick- 
ing,  haying,  etc.,  and  of  course  the  weather  and 
the  roads  were  most  unfavourable  many  days. 
After  class  Father  would  make  two  or  three 
trips  to  take  the  children  home,  while  we  swept 
the  mud  out  of  the  Church  and  made  our  spiritual 
exercises. 

We  instructed  four  children  in  an  English- 
German  family.  In  another  direction  we  visited 
a  Sudeten  family  where  I  had  to  use  my  German 
to  instruct  a  girl  of  twenty,  who  knows  scarcely 
any  English. 

We  taught  the  children  the  Benediction 
hymns  and  so  on  our  second  Sunday  there  they 
had  Benediction  for  the  first  time,  Father  having 
borrowed  the  "necessaries". 

On  the  last  Saturday  afternoon  we  had  the 
children  ready  for  Confession,  for  the  next  day 
was  First  Communion  Sunday.  What  a  marvel- 
lous thing  it  is  to  see  a  crowd' of  wild,  restless 
little  ones  suddenly  subdued  and  preparing  for 
Confession  in  all  sincerity  and  earnestness.  We 
said  the  Rosary  with  them  and  they  were  so 
good  and  attentive.  They  then  made  their  prep- 
aration for  Confession. 

That  evening  as  Father  was  returning,  his 
car  broke  down,  but  we  knew  nothing  of  this 
until  the  next  morning.  The  news  made  us 
very  sad,  for  there  was  no  car  to  collect  our 
children,  and  we  did  not  dare  to  think  they 
might  walk.  Father  was  just  about  to  start 
Mass  when  lo,  they  came  walking  in — the  whole 
fifteen.  Eleven  of  these  were  First  Communi- 
cants; the  others  were  older  children  who  had 
made  their  First  Communion  in  their  own  coun- 
try, but  had  never  received  here. 

We  had  Benediction  after  Mass,  and  then 
said  farewell   to  the  children.     Sister  and  I 


HE  WHO  ASSOCIATES  WITH  WOLVES  LEARNS  HOW  TO  HOWL. 


8 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


OCTOBER,  1940 


went  to  Frail  Singer's  home  for  a  specially  pre- 
pared dinner.  Father  took  some  left-over  bread 
at  home  as  he  wanted  to  get  to  his  car  to  repair 
it,  in  order  to  take  us  to  a  distant  family  to  give 
them  a  lesson  on  Confirmation,  for  the  Bishop 
had  sent  word  that  he  would  soon  be  coming. 

After  dinner  we  packed  our  grips  and  carried 
then  to  the  church  to  witness  a  little  girl's 
baptism  at  two  o'clock.  Unfortunately  Father 
had  not  been  able  to  repair  the  car  and  he  could 
not  get  in  touch  with  Father  M.,  as  there  was 
no  response  from  Central  down  in  the  settlement 
office.  He  tried  and  tried  and  we  waited  ami 
waited.  Evening  came  and  still  he  did  not  get 
through.  About  nine  o'clock  Sister  and  I  re- 
turned to  the  Singer  home  to  ask  for  our  bed 
back.  This  they  kindly  gave  us — also  a  drink 
of  coffee.  We  retired  and  at  eleven  the  lady 
awakened  us  to  say  that  Father  wanted  us.  We 
dressed  in  haste  and  found  Father  H.  outside 
with  a  flashlight  to  take  us  across  the  farm  to 
Father  Mc.  who  was  waiting  with  his  car.  He 
had  wondered  at  our  not  turning  up,  so  had  de- 
cided to  leave  nothing  to  chance.  Arrived  at 
Dawson  Hospital  about  midnight.  Mass  the  next 
morning  being  at  6  :30,  we  arose  at  5  :30,  for  we 
always  had  such  jobs  as  cleaning  our  clothes, 
shoes,  etc.,  before  being  presentable. 

Father  drove  Sister  D.  to  Pouce  Coupe  each 
day,  while  I  remained  at  Dawson,  where  T  had 
twenty-four  daily  pupils  and  three  adults  that  I 
instructed  in  the  evening.  The  week  went  by 
quickly  with  plenty  of  rain  and  mud ;  we  were 
both  wet  and  dirty  very  often. 

There  were  only  eight  for  First  Communion, 
but  the  whole  class  received  with  them.  Sister 
also  had  First  Communion  at  her  place. 

On  Monday  afternoon  we  started  on  our 
homeward  journey,  a  distance  of  about  480  miles. 
The  road  being  not  too  bad,  we  reached  Grand 
Prairie  at  5  o'clock.  We  remained  there  for 
Benediction  and  supper,  then  started  off  again. 
Some  parts  of  the  road  were  terrible  and  so 
instead  of  making  High  Prairie  that  night  we 
found  our  car  and  ourselves  in  a  ditch  at  11 :30 


First  Communion  Class. 

FOR  A  WEB  BEGUN 


p.m.  We  remained  there  the  whole  night.  It 
was  not  too  warm,  either,  and  to  step  out  of  the 
car  meant  more  of  that  Peace  River  Gumbo. 

About  four  a.m.  Father  started  down  the  road 
to  see  if  there  might  be  help  anywhere  near,  but 
he  walked  until  he  was  tired  and  all  to  no  pur- 
pose.. Around  9.30  a  big  truck  came  along  and 
pulled  us  out.  A  man  with  four  mules  having 
also  arrived  on  the  scene,  they  pulled  us  over  the 
worst  part  of  the  road.  The  truck  driver  gave  us 
bread  and  butter  and  we  picked  raspberries  and 
"Saskatoons"  for  breakfast. 

We  managed  to  get  properly  started  about 
10  o'clock  and  reached  High  Prairie  in  time  for 
a  lovely  dinner.  They  had  expected  us  the  night 
before  as  the  Superior  from  Dawson  had  tele- 
phoned ahead,  to  have  our  beds  ready  (this,  of 
course,  unknown  to  us).  Seeing  that  we  slept  in 
the  car  we  had  no  need  of  beds. 

We  left  High  Prairie  at  one  o'clock.  Stopped 
at  D.  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour  for  Father 
to  rest  a  bit  as  he  was  very  tired  from  the  steady 
driving  and  other  experiences.  At  3  p.m.  we 
were  off  again,  and  as  we  neared  Edmonton  the 
roads  were  being  mended,  so  were  in  terrible 
shape.  However,  Father  would  make  an  ejacul- 
ation to  Our  Mother  of  Pei'petual  Help  and  so 
get  along. 

The  worst  was  yet  to  come.  We  were  con- 
gratulating ourselves  on  being  over  the  bad 
roads  and  so  near  home,  when  suddenly  a  car 
came  towards  us  with  blinding  headlights  blaz- 
ing full  in  our  faces.  Bang!  The  two  cars 
crashed  into  each  other.  Fortunately  we  were 
not  injured,  although  I  did  bang  my  head  and 
shoulder  on  something  whch  felt  pretty  hard, 
and  the  bone  near  my  left  eye  is  tender  yet.  But 
that  is  very  little  to  what  might  have  happened. 

Father  sent  us  home  in  a  passing  ear.  We 
do  not  know  just  how  he  fared,  but  I  believe 
there  was  a  lot  of  damage  to  his  car.  I  should 
think  he  would  be  almost  determined  not  to 
bring  the  Sisters  to  his  mission  again.  One 
might  readily  believe  the  Devil  had  been  given 
permission  to  hinder  the  work.  But  the  Fathers 
in  that  country  are  real  missionaries  and  ready 
to  labour  and  suffer  all  things  for  their  flock. 

S.O.S. 


It  is  often  said  that  second  thoughts  are  best. 
So  they  are  in  matters  of  judgment,  but  not  in 
matters  of  conscience.  In  matter  of  duty  first 
thoughts  are  commonly  best — they  have  more 
in  them  of  the  Voice  of  God. 


The  world  is  full  of  willing  people;  some  are 
willing  to  work  and  others  are  willing  to  let 
them. 

(i()l>  SENDS  THREAD. 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


The  Little  Isle  of  Somewhere 

A SHRILL  blast  of  the  whistle  from  the 
funnel,  a  fresh  spurt  of  heavy  smoke,  a 
quicker  vibration  of  the  engines,  and  the 
steamer  "Chelohsin"  was  quietly  backing  out  of 
the  harbor.  As  she  paused  in  turning,  two  French 
freighters,  black,  mysterious,  dingy  and  under 
heavy  military  guard  could  be  seen  crowded 
near  the  wharf.  The  sight  of  them  caused  a 
sensation  of  dread  to  pass  over  us.  Facing  the 
setting  sun  on  our  way  through  Burrard  Tnlet, 
this  sensation  soon  left  us  as  steamers,  tugs,  sail- 
boats and  fishing  craft  passed  by.  It  was  not 
long  before  the  glowing  sun  hid  itself  behind  the 
towering  height  of  a  mountain  on  some  island 
far  ahead.  Screaming  gulls  with  their  restless 
dipping  and  wheeling  in  the  sun-dyed  sky  and 
reflecting  water,  made  interesting  the  last  hours 
of  daylight,  whilst  in  the  snatches  of  silence,  we 
whispered  tiny  prayers  for  the  spiritual  success 
of  our  visit  to  this,  as  yet,  unknown  island.  Un- 
known to  us  indeed,  except  that  it  was  wooded, 
rocky  and  that  five  hours  of  tins  lovely  sea- 
breeze  would  bring  us  to  our  desired  destination 
— False  Bay,  on  Lasqueti  Island. 

Dark  outlines  could  be  distinguished  by  10.45 
o'clock,  as  if  the  wooded  shore  were  near.  It 
was.  At  eleven,  the  engines  stopped  as  the 
"Chelohsin"  glided  into  False  Bay.  In  the  dis- 
tance, tall  fir  trees  swayed  in  the  night  air,  but 
around  the  wharf  there  was  light  and  feverish 
activity.  Crowds  of  faces  eddied  round  the  steps 
down  to  the  wharf,  good-naturedly  jostling  one 
another.  One  voice  was  heard  saying,  "There's 
a  couple  of  war-nurses  getting  off.  I  suppose  the 
nuns  will  be  along  soon."  When  it  was  seen  that 
no  one  else  was  getting  off,  we  were  asked  by 
a  young  woman  in  a  red  sweater  and  slacks,  if 
we  were  the  Sisters  of  Service.  She  told  us  she 
was  Mrs.  R.,  the  lady  with  whom  Father  B.  had 
arranged  for  us  to  stay.  The  proprietor  of  the 
hotel  and  general  store,  Mr.  W.  and  Mrs.  W.,  at 
once  introduced  themselves.  They  had  a  car 
ready  for  us,  before  the  "Chelohsin"  had  left, 
to  take  us  to  Mrs.  R's.  Into  the  back  seat  we 
climbed,  during  which  time  the  driver,  Mrs.  R., 
and  a  friend  were  seated,  ready  to  back  the  car 
off  the  lengthy  bridge. 

Speeding  along  a  narrow  road,  up  a  hill,  down 
across  a  bridge,  up,  around  a  sudden  curve,  un- 
der a  huge  fallen  tree,  so  that  we  clutched  our 
suitcases,  wondering  if  now  were  the  time  to 
make  an  act  of  contrition.  Finally  after  seven 
miles  of  this  another  short  turn  brought  us  out 
along  a  picket  fence  to  the  vicious  barking  of  a 
frantic  dog.  The  road  ended  in  front  of  a  barn. 
A  figure  came  towards  us  out  of  the  dark.  Mrs. 
R.  greeted  her  with,  "Grandma  D.,  are  you  still 
up?   These  are  the  two  Sisters." 


This  was  not  the  end  of  our  journey.  Another 
half  mile  down  a  steep,  rocky  path  on  foot,  carry- 
ing our  lead-like  suitcases  brought  us  to  Mrs. 
R.'s  cottage,  perched  on  the  edge  of  a  cliff,  over- 
looking the  Bay.  All  the  way  down  things  were 
moving  in  the  bushes,  bells  tinkled  in  the  dis- 
tance. These  Mrs.  R.  explained  were  sheep  or 
goats,  the  only  wild  animals  on  Lasqueti  being- 
deer.  Reaching  the  gate,  more  barking  started 
up  until  "Bob"  was  ordered  to  "lie  down."  After 
having  a  hot  cup  of  tea,  we  were  at  last  shown 
to  our  room,  where  sleep  soon  effaced,  for  a  time, 
the  memory  of  narrow  roads,  fallen  trees  and 
barking  dogs. 

Our  repose  was  shattered  at  daybreak  by 
the  sound  of  a  man's  voice  shouting,  "Patsy, 
chase  that  cow  in,"  accompanied  by  the  rattle  of 
milk  pails.  A  little  later,  we  met  Patsy,  the  fair- 
haired  little  girl  of  nine,  who  had  been  taking- 
religious  instructions  by  mail  from  Victoria.  She 
was  to  be  the  first  child  on  the  island  to  receive 
Holy  Communion.  Besides  making  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Patsy  there  were  questions  upon  questions 
to  be  asked.  As  a  result,  we  learned  that  Las- 
queti was  nine  miles  long,  that  three  places, 
False  Bay  at  the  top  end,  Squeti  Bay  at  the  lower 
end,  and  Tucker  Bay  half-way  between  these 
two,  were  the  yardstick  by  which  directions  were 
given.  Possessing  this  knowledge,  we  decided  to 
begin  visiting  all  the  families  possible,  Catholic 
or  otherwise,  on  foot,  to  arrange  about  reli- 
gious instructions.  Thus,  we  passed  our  first  day, 
returning  to  Mrs.  R.'s  at  six  in  the  evening,  hav- 
ing covered  seven  miles  in  visiting  five  families. 

Now,  a  Wednesday  on  Lasqueti  is  the  day,  for 
the  steamer  calls  at  False  Bay  en  route  to  Van- 
couver. Mr.  W.  begins  very  early  to  collect  the 
mail  on  the  lower  road.  This  gave  us  a  chance  to 
ride  up  to  False  Bay  in  the  morning.  While 
there,  we  met  three  little  Catholic  girls  from 
Squeti  Bay,  gave  them  a  catechism,  promising  to 


Peanut  Scramble. 


HK  THAT  BLOWS  THE  FIRE  WIJX  GET  SPARKS  IN   HIS  EYES. 


10 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


OCTOBER,  1940 


Patsy — the  First  First  Communicant 
on  the  Island. 

see  them  another  day.  Next  we  visited  a  Catholic 
couple,  married  six  years,  who  had  had  their  two 
Children  baptized  recently  by  Father  B.,  but  they 
themselves  had  been  married  by  a  minister,  who 
used  to  come  to  the  island  before  Father  B.'s 
time.  Before  leaving  they  had  consented  to  have 
their  marriage  rectified,  on  Father  B.'s  arrival. 
We  spent  the  following  day  visiting  in  Tucker 
Bay  vicinity,  but  for  the  day  after,  Mr.  W.  had 
offered  to  drive  us  down  to  Squeti  Bay.  There, 
with  the  car,  in  spite  of  a  steady  downpour  of 
rain,  we  were  able  to  call  on  fifteen  families. 
Everywhere,  the  people  were  so  friendly  and 
pleasant,  especially  Mr.  A.  D.,  the  father  of  the 
three  little  girls  we  had  met  at  False  Bay.  He 
told  us  he  had  no  objection  to  the  children  going 
to  catechism,  although  Mrs.  A.  D.  was  not  then 
at  home.  The  two  youngest  children,  he  said, 
were  not  yet  christened  but  that  the  older  four 
had  been  by  a  minister  some  years  previous  to 
Father  B.'s  time.  On  being  asked  if  he  would 
consent  to  their  being  baptized  conditionally,  he 
said  "yes."  Bright  smiles  lit  up  the  children's 
faces.  He  also  agreed  to  have  his  marriage  bless- 
ed, providing  his  wife  approved,  and  he  thought 
she  would.  With  this  answer  we  were  delighted, 
arranged  to  have  the  children  for  class  the  next 
day,  and  asked  him  to  bring  his  wife  and  the 
children  to  Grandma  D.'s  for  devotions  on  Sun- 
day morning.  The  devotions  included  the  recita- 
tion of  the  rosary,  reading  of  the  Epistle  and 
Gospel  for  the  Sunday,  also  a  few  hymns. 


The  following  week  passed  by  in  a  whirl  of 
classes  and  singing  with  the  children  at  Tucker 
Bay  school,  final  instructions  for  Patsy,  lessons 
for  the  five  children  at  the  A.  D.  home,  and  even- 
ing classes  for  Buddy,  a  young  man  about  to  join 
the  army,  who  wished  to  be  baptized  conditionally 
and  make  his  First  Confession.  Towards  the  end 
of  the  week  Father  B.  arrived  by  gas-boat,  saying 
Mass  at  Grandma  D.'s  on  Friday.  On  Saturday. 
Buddy  was  baptized ;  on  Sunday  every  one  came 
to  Holy  Mass,  celebrated  at  the  school.  After- 
wards the  two  families  went  up  to  Grandma  D's 
for  dinner.  In  the  afternoon  the  two  marriages 
were  blessed,  the  children's  baptisms  and  first 
confessions  all  took  place.  One  Sister  assisted 
Father,  the  other  looked  after  the  babies  and 
helped  the  children  to  prepare  for  confession.  As 
soon  as  the  older  children  had  mastered  the  act 
of  contrition,  they  at  once  began  to  teach  the 
younger  ones;  they  were  so  eager  to  make  a  good 
confession. 

Nine  o'clock  Monday  morning,  the  Feast  of 
Our  Lady  of  the  Snows,  found  Patsy,  arrayed  in 
white,  before  the  improvised  Altar  at  Mrs.  D.'s, 
where  Father  B.  Avas  about  to  begin  Holy  Mass, 
eagerly  listening  to  him  as  he  reminded  her  of  the 
Last  Supper,  telling  her  Jesus  had  thought  of  this 
day,  when  He  should  come  to  her  for  the  first 
time.  How  attentive  the  dear  child  was;  how 
fervent  her  thanksgiving!  After  the  Communion 
breakfast,  Mr.  W.  took  pictures  with  his  large 
camera,  even  though  it  was  Monday,  one  of  his 
busiest  da}'s. 

The  picnic  began  at  noon  with  the  singing  of 
"Daily,  Daily  Sing  to  Mary,"  after  which  about 
twenty  sat  down  to  a  lunch,  served  on  the  veranda 
in  real  picnic  style.  Later,  young  and  old  gather- 
ed in  one  of  the  level  fields,  fenced  off  between 
the  rocks,  for  the  races.  Everyone  enjoyed  him- 
self, the  older  ones  laughing  as  the  wee  ones  got 
tangled  up  in  the  three-legged  race.  Prizes  were 
given  for  plain,  wheelbarrow,  peanut  and  clothes- 
pin races.  Jumping  and  soft  ball  kept  the  young 
folks  busy  for  a  time.  A  nut  scramble  for  the 
little  ones  finished  off  the  picnic,  a  happy  mem- 
ory for  the  time  to  coine.  Three  lusty  cheers 
went  up  for  Father  B.  before  he  left  that  after- 
noon. Tea  at  Mrs.  D.'s  brought  to  a  close  a  per- 
fectly happy  day  for  all  present. 

Later  that  evening  as  we  climbed  to  our 
favourite  spot  overlooking  the  Bay,  our  hearts 
still  filled  with  joy,  we,  like  the  Apostles,  spoke 
to  the  Master  of  the  success  which  through  I  lis 
Holy  Name  had  crowned  our  efforts. 

S.O.S. 


OF  BIG  WORDS  AND  FEATHERS,  MANY  CO  TO  THE  POUND. 


OCTOBER,  1940  THE  FIELD  AT  HOME  " 

Notes  from  S.O.S.  Alberta  Catechists 


ON  JULY  1st  Sister  and  I  started  out  on 
our  Catechetical  tour.  We  were  to  teach 
for  a  month  at  surrounding  missions,  and 
when  we  say  surrounding  missions  we  do  not 
mean  to  imply  that  they  are  at  a  distance  of  only 
a  few  miles,  for  some  of  these  points,  though 
coming  under  the  ministry  of  the  one  priest, 
are  fifty  miles  apart. 

The  first  scene  of  our  labours  was  thirteen 
miles  from  where  we  were  staying.  For  the 
first  few  days  the  roads  were  quite  bad  due  to 
recent  rain  storms  but  Providence  was  kind 
to  us  and  favored  us  with  sunshine  all  week,  so 
Sister  H.  taught  Confirmation  class  in  the  church 
and  I  taught  the  "wee  tots"  out  on  the  wood- 
pile, as  this  particular  church  boasts  neither 
grass  nor  trees  around  it. 

There  was  much  to  be  taught  in  just  one 
week.  The  first  day  I  was  teaching  T  asked 
my  little  ones  who  had  made  them.  They  all 
knew  the  answer  to  that.  But  when  I  asked 
them  why  God  had  made  them,  the  answer  was 
"So  I'd  be  alive!" 

After  having  spent  three  days  teaching  them 
,the  five  things  necessary  to  make  a  good  con- 
fession, I  asked  one  little  lad  what  the  first 
thing  necessary  was,  and  he  answered  "Take  off 
your  hat!" 

By  Sunday  seven  of  these  children  were 
sufficiently  instructed  to  receive  Our  Dear  Lord 
into  their  hearts  for  the  first  time.  Most 
of  the  parents  of  these  little  ones  approached 
to  receive  the  Bread  of  Life  also  and  all  were 
radiant  with  holy  joy.  At  Mass  the  children  sang 
the  hymns  they  had  been  taught  during  the 
week. 

*       *  * 

Monday — Sister  H.  and  I  separated,  she  teach- 
ing at  Camp  Creek  and  I  at  Pride  Valley  about 
fifteen  miles  further  up  the  line.  Here  I  had  a 
class  of  ten  ranging  from  four  to  sixteen  years 
of  age.  I  spent  the  week  with  a  lovely  German 
family  and  taught  in  a  log  school  house  about 
a  mile  through  the  bush.  The  school  was  beau- 
tifully situated  on  a  hill  overlooking  a  creek, 
where  it  had  the  full  benefit  of  the  sun  at  all  hours 
of  the  day. 

These  children  had  all  been  following  the 
"Catechism  by  Mail"  lessons  and  knew  all  their 
prayers  and  the  ten  commandments  backward 
and  forward,  so  it  was  very  easy  teaching  them. 
We  went  through  the  four  principal  Mysteries 
of  our  Faith,  the  Seven  Sacraments  and 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  the  children 
doing  project  work  on  each  of  these  subjects. 


They  took  a  real  interest  in  the  work  and  en- 
joyed every  minute  of  it. 

Berrying  season  was  at  its  height  just, 
then  so,  every  afternoon,  on  our  way  back  from 
.school  we  picked  wild  strawbei'ries  and  had 
,them  for  supper.  The  week  passed  all  too  quick- 
-ly  and  it  was  with  reluctance  that  I  took  my 
departure  on  Saturday  afternoon. 

Stuck  In  The  Mud 

Monday,  Jvdy  loth,  we  started  out  for  Belve- 
dere. It  had  rained  Saturday  and  Sunday,  so 
the  roads  were  nothing  short  of  terrible.  A  few 
years  ago  when  I  was  in  the  Novitiate  the  Parish 
Priest  for  whom  we  are  now  teaching  paid  us  a 
visit  one  Sunday  afternoon,  and  gave  us  a  little 
.talk  on  the  "Western  Missions".  Among  other 
things  he  mentioned  the  "gumbo  roads."  It  all 
sounded  like  a  very  vile  variety  of  mud,  but  one 
lias  to  have  driven  through,  or  remained  stranded 
in  it  to  fully  appreciate  its  qualities.  If  you 
do  get  stuck  you  are  liable  to  lose  many  hours 
■of  class  as  well  as  your  rubbers.  It  so  happened 
.that  while  teaching  at  this  certain  mission,  thir- 
teen miles  from  where  we  were  staying,  it  rained 
.for  two  days  and  we  were  unable  to  even  start 
put  on  the  road.  Finally  we  said  the  Litany 
of  the  Saints  that  the  weather  might  clear,  which 
at  did.  So  the  next  morning  we  started  out  and 
/got  about  three  miles  from  town  when  we 
istruck  a  mud  hole,  the  back  wheels  of  the  car 
disappearing  completely  from  sight.  A  car 
came  our  way  and  tried  to  pull  us  out  but  the 
,rope  broke.  Then  they  tried  with  a  chain  and 
nearly  broke  the  fender  of  their  car,  so  they 
.went  their  way  and  Father  had  to  wade  through 
the  mud,  back  to  town  where  he  got  two  horses, 
and  these  succeeded  in  getting  the  car  out.  The 
forenoon  was  well  spent  by  the  time  we  got  to 
■our  destination,  but  all  the  children  were  there 
waiting  for  us,  they  had  also  come  on  the  pre- 
vious days,  despite  the  bad  weather,  which 
shows  how  eager  the  children  are  to  learn  of 
the  truths  of  our  holy  religion,  if  they  only  had 
half  a  chance. 

First  Communion  was  supposed  to  be  given 
on  Saturday  morning  but  as  we  had  missed  two 
and  a  half  days  teaching,  it  was  postponed  till 
Monday,  enabling  us  to  teach  Saturday  and 
-Sunday  afternoons.  Nine  little  ones  were  to 
make  their  First  Holy  Communion  but  two  were 
unable  to  get  there  on  account  of  bad  roads  and 
one  child  ate  "Saskatoons"  (berries)  on  his  way 
to  Mass. 

*       *  * 
Catechism  Classes  were  beginning  the  same 


A  NIMBLE  DIME  IS  BETTER  THAN  A  SLOW  QUARTER. 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


day  at  Barrhead,  so  Sister  H.  went  to  Belvedere 
and  I  started  class  at  home.  I  held  the  fort 
till  3  p.m.  when  Sister  H.  returned  and  I  left 
to  go  ninety  miles  further  north,  into  the  bush, 
and  teach  there  for  a  week.  The  children  at 
Flatbush  were  for  the  most  part  Polish,  Ukrain- 
ian and  German.  One  could  not  wish  to  meet 
nicer  or  more  docile  children  or  more  eager  to 
learn.  Twenty-one  children  attended  the  classes, 
sixteen  making  their  First  Holy  Communion  on 
July  29th.  On  the  previous  Saturday  three  of 
the  little  ones  were  baptized,  a  little  girl  of  ten 
and  one  of  seven  and  a  little  boy  of  nine. 
Baptism  was  administered  in  the  church,  so  the 
rest  of  the  class,  who  had  never  seen  a  baptism, 
witnessed  these,  and  this  helped  along  their 
religious  education  somewhat. 

Flatbush  is  situated  out  in  the  bush  twenty- 
six  miles  from  "nowhere".  The  parents  of  these 
children  do  not  understand  a  word  of  English, 
.so  it  is  very  difficult  for  the  children  to  get  much 
religious  instruction,  as  Father  at  best  can  only 
get  out  once  a  month  to  say  Holy  Mass  for  them. 
After  a  rain  storm  he  has  to  travel  through 
roads  that  are  a  series  of  mud  holes  which  are 
repaired  with  branches  of  trees.  Sometimes  you 
are  fortunate  enough  to  get  through,  but  often- 
times you  are  not  and  pay  for  the  attempt  with 
some  very  valuable  parts  of  the  car's  mechanism, 
which  is  an  awful  drain  on  these  poor  mission- 
aries' pocketbooks,  that  are  very  flat  the  greater 
part  of  the  time. 

Confirmation  was  administered  at  this  mis- 
sion on  August  1st.  When  Archbishop  Mac- 
Donald  was  questioning  the  children  he  asked 
them  who  the  present  Pope  was.  All  remained 
mute  for  a  while  then  suddenly  one  little  young- 
ster shouted  out  "MacDonald."  That  gave  the 
Archbishop  quite  a  laugh.  Then  he  asked  them 
to  give  him  an  example  of  something  that  would 
be  a  sin,  one  child  answered,  "To  run  into 
church."  He  said,  "Yes,  that  might  be  a  sin, 
but  T  think  it  would  be  a  bigger  sin  to  run  out." 

About  seventy  were  confirmed  on  this  mis- 
sion and  ninety-seven  in  the  Barrhead  Mission. 
#       #  # 

On  August  12th  Sister  P.  and  I  started  Cate- 
chism Classes  in  Mearns.  Eighty-six  attended 
the  classes  very  regularly.  Thirty-six  were 
French  speaking.  Sister  taught  the  English 
class  while  T  handled  the  French. 

Mass  was  said  every  morning  at  nine  o'clock, 
at  which  all  the  children  assisted. 

We  asked  them  to  bring  flowers  to  decorate 
the  church  for  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption 
and  the  main  altar  and  Our  Lady's  Shrine  were 
beautiful  indeed.  In  the  afternoon  we  had  Bene- 
diction of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  at  which  the 
children  sang  the  hymns. 

On  Saturday  afternoon  a  picnic  was  held, 
Father  having  invested  in  five  gallons  of  ice 


cream.  He  was  certainly  at  the  height  of  his 
popularity  that  afternoon. 

Sunday  morning  eighteen  little  ones  made 
their  First  Holy  Communion.  During  Mass 
hymns,  which  had  been  taught  them  during  the 
week,  were  sung  in  both  English  arid  French. 


*  __  »  „  .  * 

I  When  . . .  "The  Will  Is  Opened"  j 

AFTER  DEATH  ' '  when  the  Will  is  open-  j 

ed"  here  is  what  we  often  find.   "The  j 

wrong  people  are  receiving  too  much  j 

]    and  the  right  people  too  little."    But  the  j 

most  astonishing  of  all  is  that  so  little,  if  1 

anything  at  all,  is  left  to  God's  Church  and  I 
her  missionary  Avork. 

I        This  painful  neglect  on  the  part  of  a  1 

'    Catholic  is  often  due  to  sheer  forgetfulness.  j 

i  but  mostly  to  the  hidden  thought  that  the  j 
j    Church  does  not  need  his  help,  can  get 

|    along  without  it.    Unconsciously  overawed  f 

j    by  the  Protestant  atmosphere  in  which  he  j 

j    lived  he  came  to  regard  the  Church  as  a  ' 

sort  of  inner,  secret  thing  of  individual  i 
j    concern,  without  any  relation  to  the  world 

!    she  is  called  to  save.    Wholly  centred  on  J 

!    his  individual  soul  he  divorced  his  life  from  j 

I    the  obligations  he  owed  to  the  Church  as  a  f 

J    social   body.     This   erroneous   widespread  ■ 

j    view  has  broken  down  among  Catholics  that  ' 

J    Christian  solidarity,  that  "esprit  de  corps"  ! 

j    which  is  the  fulfilment  and  expression  of  the  I 

'  Church's  doctrine  on  the  Mystical  Body  of  j 
!    Christ,  Her  divine  Founder  and  Head. 

The  Church  indeed  is  essentially  a  spi-  j 

!    ritual  society.   But  here  below  her  power  for  j 

I    good  widely  depends  on  the  help  she  re-  5 

|    ceives  from  her  children  for  the  fulfilment  ; 

of  her  mission  among  men.    This  is  particu-  ! 

|    larly   true   in   her   missionary    endeavour  j 

i    throughout  the  world.    The  missions  of  the  ! 

S    Church  in  the  field  at  home  and  afar  are  I 

i    supported  mainly  by  the  offerings  of  those  j 

j    faithful  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Church,  j 

j    who  understand  what  her  saving  ministry  j 

j  means  to  man's  welfare  here  below  and  be-  | 
j   yond  the  grave. 

When  "Your  Will  is  opened"  shall  it  re-  s 

=    fleet  this  mind  of  an  understanding  Catho-  ' 

1    lie?     Keep  this  provision  of  helping  the  { 

!    Church  in  your  mind  and  in  your  heart  when  J 

I  you  make  your  Will.  Tf  you  have  already  j 
J    made  it.  look  over  its  various  clauses  to  see 

f  if  you  have  not  forgotten  the  Church  and  j 
}    her  missions. 

G.  DALY.  C.SS.R. 


TO-DAY'S  EGG  IS  ltKTTER  THAN  TO-MORROW'S  HEN. 


BER,  1940  THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 

ALBERTA  COAL  BRANCH  NEWS 


THE  Summer  brought  us  once  again  the 
great  privilege  of  teaching  "Christ's  little 
ones,"  the  opportunity  of  helping  to  make 
llim  better  known,  and  better  loved.  Knowing 
that  every  opportunity  is  a  responsibility,  we 
turned  missionward  with  a  prayer  for  Divine 
assistance,  knowing  well  that  the  work  is  His, 
the  results  His,  too,  and  we,  privileged  to  be 
permitted  to  help  ever  so  little  in  His  work. 

We  left  at  the  end  of  June  for  the  mountains 
where  we  were  to  make  our  home  for  the  coming 
month.  It  was  like  "going  home"  for  us,  for  we 
had  experienced  the  kindness  of  the  pastor  and 
his  people  the  previous  summer. 

We  got  off  the  train  at  L.  and  were  pleased 
to  see  some  of  our  last  year  pupils  on  the  sta- 
tion platform  eager  to  know  if  Catechism  classes 
were  starting  at  once.  The  time  being  5:00  p.m. 
we  convinced  them  it  would  be  better  to  wait 
till  the  following  day.  We  were  very  anxious 
to  see  the  new  church ;  it  was  just  being  started 
when  we  left  last  year.  We  were  very  pleas- 
antly surprised  when  we  saw  the  lovely  big 
church.  The  people  of  the  parish  may  well  be 
proud  of  it. 

One  day,  in  the  midst  of  a  lesson  on  Adam 
and  Eve,  a  little  boy  waved  his  hand  frantically, 
clamoring  for  attention.  On  being  asked  what 
he  would  like,  he  said:  "Sister,  I  know  how 
God  made  Eve.  He  made  her  out  of  a  piece  of 
ribbon."  This  speech  caused  quite  a  laugh  among 
the  children.  Several  boys  came  very  faithfully 
every  evening  to  learn  to  serve  Mass.  They 
certainly  had  the  good  will  to  learn.  As  the 
children  loved  to  sing,  some  hymns  were  learned 
— and  of  course,  there  was  recess,  and  plenty  of 
baseball  practice.  The  ball  took  a  great  deal  of 
punishment  in  this  camp,  as  the  boys  were  de- 
termined they  were  "going  to  lick"  the  teams 
from  the  other  camps  at  the  annual  picnic.  In 
the  evenings,  we  visited  the  homes  of  the  chil- 
dren, and  the  other  Catholic  homes  of  the  town, 
and  looked  up  the  few  who  were  not  attending 
the  catechism  class. 

On  the  eve  of  First  Communion  Day,  with 
the  help  of  some  of  the  young  ladies  of  the 
parish,  we  decorated  the  altar  with  flowers 
specially  provided  for  the  occasion.  Four  boys 
and  four  girls  received  their  first  Holy  Com- 
munion on  Sunday  morning.  All  the  children 
received  Holy  Communion,  and  also  many  of  the 
adults.  The  adult  choir  from  the  next  camp 
supplied  the  music  for  the  occasion.  It  was  a 
very  happy  day  for  the  children,  particularly 
the  First  Communicants,  and  it  was  the  first 
First  Communion  class  in  the  new  church. 


Immediately  after  Mass,  the  children  had  a 
"First  Communion  breakfast"  and  did  justice  to 
it.  All  returned  home  happy.  God  bless  them, 
and  keep  them  always  as  near  to  Him  as  on 
that,  the  biggest  day  in  their  lives. 

The  two  weeks  at  L.  being  over,  we  set 
out  for  M.,  and  started  again.  There  the  class 
consisted  of  about  thirty-five  children.  The 
usual  catechism  classes  Avere  conducted,  and  a 
little  help  given  the  altar  boys.  The  attendance 
was  good  throughout  the  two  weeks,  the  chil- 
dren ranging  from  Grade  I  to  about  Grade  X. 
The  majority  of  the  class  being  boys,  baseball 
was  the  order  of  the  day.  Several  times  during 
the  two  weeks,  we  walked  out  to  the  ball  field 
for  a  "real  practice"  as  the  boys  said,  as  there 
was  no  level  spot  near  the  church,  only  hills. 
After  plenty  of  practice,  the  team  was  picked  for 
the  picnic,  very  much  determined  to  defeat  the 
boys  from  L. 

The  young  ladies  of  the  Junior  Praesidia,  of 
the  Legion  of  Mary,  numbering  ten  or  twelve, 
came  three  times  a  week  for  choir  practice  and 
catechism.  We  practiced  hymns  for  First  Com- 
munion Sunday,  Benediction  hymns,  etc.  Dur- 
ing most  of  our  stay  here  it  rained,  making 
visiting  more  difficult. 

The  day  before  First  Communion,  the  girls 
of  the  Legion  of  Mary  cleaned  the  church  thor- 
oughly, as  two  weeks  of  rain  and  some  thirty-five 
pairs  of  feet  had  left  their  marks.  We  gathered 
wild  flowers  to  decorate  the  altar.  On  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  five  boys  and  one  girl  received 
their  First  Holy  Communion.  The  girls'  choir 
sang  very  nicely.  "To  Jesus'  Heart  All  Burn- 
ing", "Sweet  Sacrament  Divine",  and  "Queen 
of  the  Holy  Rosary"  were  the  hymns  selected. 
May  the  Queen  of  the  Holy  Rosary  ever  guard 
these,  Her  mountain  flowers. 

Here  also,  all  the  children  received  Holy 
Communion,  and  a  great  many  of  the  adults. 

Our  month  passed  very  quickly,  and  it  was 
with  regret  that  we  left  our  little  friends.  They 
were  good  to  us,  and  we  will  always  remember 
our  stay  with  them. 

S.O.S. 


CHARACTER  IS  WHAT  AVE  ARE  IN  THE  DARK. 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME  OCTOB 

DOING  OUR  BIT  IN  ONTARIO 


BRECHIN. 

ON  SUNDAY,  July  7th,  two  of  us,  with  all 
the  numerous  appurtenances  necessary  for 
present-day  vacation  school  work,  set  out 
for  Brechin.  This  being  the  fourth  summer  that 
the  S.O.S.  have  taught  religion  to  the  children 
who  attend  public  schools  in  this  district,  there 
would  seem  to  be  little  new  of  interest  for  our 
readers.  However,  being  two  new  Sisters  on  an 
old  job,  it  is  possible  we  may  have  had  new  ex- 
periences. 

The  drive  was  so  calm  and  restful  that  our  one 
difficulty  was  keeping  awake.  Arriving  at 
Brechin  about  3  p.m.,  we  drove  up  to  the  Rectory 
gate,  where  a  young  man  of  the  parish  aAvaited 
lis  with  the  message  that  Father  was  administer- 
ing baptism  and  would  see  us  later.  The  young 
man  directed  us  to  the  cottage  that  was  to  be  our 
home  for  the  next  two  weeks.  Here  we  were  Avel- 
comed  heartily  by  Mrs.  E.,  who  had  generously 
assumed  the  responsibility  of  seeing  that  the  two 
Sisters  were  housed  and  fed  during  their  stay  in 
Brechin — a  responsibility  which  she  fulfilled  so 
cheerfully  and  thoroughly  that  we  were  often  re- 
minded of  the  text:  "The  Lord  loveth  a  cheer- 
ful giver."  And  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  she 
had  the  daily  care  of  her  three  children — the 
youngest  only  sixteen  months  old. 

Tragedy  Greets  Us. 

Mrs.  E.'s  house  is  conveniently  situated  across 
the  road  from  the  schoolhouse  in  which  we  were 
to  teach,  so  we  spent  most  of  the  afternoon  in  un- 
packing catechetical  material,  hanging  charts, 
etc.,  in  preparation  for  the  morrow.  After  sup- 
per we  sat  on  the  porch,  and  the  children  of  the 
neighbourhood  gathered  around  to  see  "the  Sis- 
ters." From  scraps  of  conversation  we  began  to 
realize  that  we  had  entered  Brechin  on  the  eve 
of  tragedy.  "He  fell  right  down  into  the  cistern," 
said  one  child.  "But  he  was  dead  before  he  got 
there,"  cried  another.  "They  just  had  a  Diamond 
Jubilee,"  was  a  third  comment,  while  another 
announced  importantly :  "My  mother's  going  to 
the  wake." 

Later  Mrs.  E.  gave  us  the  details  of  the  sad 
story.  A  highly  respected  member  of  the  parish, 
Mr.  D.,  had  been  found  dead  at  the  bottom  of  his 
own  cistern,  the  day  before  we  arrived.  Mr.  D., 
who  was  over  90  years  of  age,  had  been  working 
on  his  farm  all  day  and  at  sunset  had  started  to 
repair  something  that  was  wrong  with  the  pump. 
As  there  was  no  water  in  his  lungs  when  his  body 
was  discovered,  it  was  believed  he  had  suffered 
a  heart  attack  and  toppled  into  the  cistern.  Addi- 
tional pathos  was  added  to  the  incident  by  the 


tad  that  only  a  few  weeks  before  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
D.  had  celebrated  their  Diamond  Wedding  Anni- 
versary, on  which  occasion  they  had  received  a 
letter  of  congratulation  from  the  Archbishop  of 
Toronto  and  a  message  from  the  Holy  Father. 
All  evening  we  watched  a  stream  of  sympathetic 
friends  and  relatives  making  their  way  to  the  D. 
home  to  attend  the  wake. 

Usual  Class  Routine. 

Next  morning,  owing  to  the  Funeral  Mass,  we 
were  later  than  usual  in  beginning  our  classes 
and  the  forenoon  was  spent  in  registration  and 
getting  acquainted  with  the  pupils.  We  found 
these  children  very  well-behaved  and  exceedingly 
interested  in  learning  more  about  their  Faith.  As 
usual,  project  work  had  first  place  in  their  affec- 
tion and  attention,  and  by  the  end  of  the  fort- 
night some  had  exceptionally  creditable  books  for 
inspection  while  all  had  done  very  good  work. 
Spelling  was  not  the  strong  point,  and  when  cor- 
recting answers  to  the  daily  written  test,  it  was 
sometimes  difficult  to  gather  what  they  were  try- 
ing to  express.  For  instance,  one  child  wrote : 
"Our  Holy  Father  the  Pop  lives  in  Rum." 

Singing  had  its  place  in  the  daily  programme, 
and  when  teaching  the  "0  Salutaris"  and  "Tan- 
tum  Ergo"  the  children  were  told  that  these 
hymns  were  composed  by  St.  Thomas  Aquinas. 
To  impress  this  fact  we  used  the  familiar  story 
of  Our  Lord,  saying  to  St.  Thomas:  "Well  hast 
thou  written  of  me,  Thomas.  What  reward  wilt 
thou  have?"  with  the  saint's  famous  reply: 
"Nought  but  Thyself,  0  Lord."  In  the  afternoon 
test  Ave  receiA'ed  this  interesting  version:  "Our 
Lord  said,  'Thomas,  you  have  Avrote  well  about 
me.  What  do  you  Avant  V  And  Thomas  said. 
'Only  you,  Lord.' " 

Closing  Celebrations. 

The  days  passed  quickly  and  all  too  soon  came 
the  last  Friday.  On  this  day,  with  the  help  of 
some  kind  ladies  of  the  parish,  AA-e  had  a  picnic 
for  the  children.  First,  the  prizes  Avere  distri- 
buted— for  perfect  attendance,  for  the  best  pro- 
ject books,  and  for  highest  marks  in  the  tests. 
Then  all  the  children  Avent  over  to  the  church  to 
go  to  Confession  in  preparation  for  the  General 
Communion  to  be  held  the  folloAving  Sunday.  On 
their  return  to  the  school  lunch  Avas  served,  and 
never  did  Ave  see  sandAviches  and  cake  disappear 
Avith  such  celerity.  The  croAvning  treat  Avas  ice- 
cream— donated  by  Father  C. 

On  Sunday  morning  ten  little  ones  welcomed 
our  Lord  to  their  liearts  for  the  first  time  but  all 
Avho  had  attended  vacation  school  received  Com- 


UNLESS  THK  CLAY  BE  WELL  POUNDED,  NO  PITCH  KH  CAN  HE  MADE. 


OCTOBER,  1940 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


15 


munion.  In  the  afternoon  there  was  a  Procession 
in  honour  of  Our  Blessed  Mother.  The  banner, 
bearing  a  picture  of  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Help, 
was  carried  by  an  older  girl,  while  four  tiny 
tots  bore  the  blue  and  white  streamers.  Behind 
them  marched  bravely  a  three-year-old  vision  of 
loveliness — little  Mary,  the  pet  of  the  village.  On 
a  blue  and  white  cushion  she  proudly  carried  the 
wreath  of  flowers  for  Our  Lady.  After  her  came 
the  girls  in  white  dresses  and  veils,  followed  by 
the  boys  in  their  Sunday  suits. 

Singing  well-knowTn  hymns  to  Our  Lady,  the 
procession  made  its  way  up  the  aisle  of  Brechin's 
beautiful  church,  and  the  crown  of  flowers  was 
placed  on  the  head  of  a  statue  of  Our  Blessed 
Mother  which  had  been  specially  decorated  for  the 
occasion.  Father  then  invested  the  children  in 
the  Scapular  and  the  ceremony  was  closed  with 
Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  the  hymns 
being  sung  by  the  children.  S.O.S. 

BRAMPTON. 

Our  arrival  in  Brampton  this  summer  remind- 
ed me  of  a  very  amusing  incident  of  several  years 
ago. 

Larry,  a  youthful  Boy  Scout  leader,  came  to 
Toronto  to  attend  a  Scout  Convention.  Thinking 
that  he  was  to  be  billetted  at  the  home  of  a  bro- 
ther Scout  and  having  to  rely  on  his  thumb  for 
transportation,  he  carried  nothing  more  than  the 
essentials,  and  these  he  had  carefully  tied  in  a 
small  brown  paper  bag. 

Upon  reaching  Toronto  he  was  advised  that 
plans  had  been  changed  and  that  his  headquarters 
were  to  be  at  the  Royal  York  Hotel.  A  chauffeur 
who  was  in  charge  of  a  most  luxurious  limousine 
was  instructed  to  drive  the  young  man  to  his  des- 
tination. It  was  all  smooth  sailing  until  the 
porte-cochere  of  the  hotel  was  reached  and  a 
smiling  young  bell-hop  opened  the  car  door  and 
asked,  "May  I  have  your  luggage,  Sir?"  "Lug- 
gage !  oh !  er  .  .  .  yes,  here  you  are,  sonny,"  stam- 
mered Larry,  thrusting  the  little  brown  paper 
bag  into  the  youngster's  hand. 

"Oh!  I  said  luggage,  sir,  not  lunch,"  remon- 
strated the  boy. 

"That's  my  luggage,  boy,"  replied  Larry  with- 
out so  much  as  blinking  an  eyelid.  "Now  show 
me  to  my  room  quickly." 

Uulike  the  hero  of  our  story,  we  arrived  in 
Brampton  with  sufficient  baggage  to  keep  a  dozen 
bell-hops  hopping,  but,  fortunately,  we  were  met 
by  kind  friends  who  relieved  us  of  all  responsi- 
bility in  that  regard,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
we  were  introduced  to  our  new  surroundings. 

After  Mass  next  morning  we  had  the  official 
opening  of  the  religious  vacation  school  with  an 
enrolment  of  about  thirty.  The  first  period 
proved  all  too  short  for  the  teachers  but  the  lure 
of  the  cherry  tree  just  outside  was  almost  too 
much  for  our  youthful  charges,  so  the  recess  bell 


Recess  Hour  at  Brampton. 


w  as  rung  a  little  before  time.  The  assistant  pas- 
tor, Reverend  Father  D.  took  it  upon  himself 
to  hand  out  the  rations  as  experience  of  other 
years  had  proved  that  cherry  trees  cannot  sup- 
port the  combined  weight  of  fruit  and  twenty 
or  thirty  sturdy  little  boys.  With  mouths,  fists, 
and  pockets  well  filled  with  the  coveted  fruit  the 
two  classes  proceeded  to  the  park  where  games 
were  played  and  enjoyed  by  the  teachers  as  well 
as  the  pupils.  An  elderly  gentleman  who  was 
intensely  interested  in  the  sports,  ventured  to 
ask  us  if  we  were  English  governesses  looking 
after  the  war  refugees. 

At  noon  Father  D.  resumed  his  post  under  the 
cherry  tree,  thus  giving  us  a  breathing  space  in 
which  to  prepare  for  the  afternoon.  Benediction 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  given  at  three- 
thirty  in  the  afternoon,  after  which  the  children 
scurried  home  to  report  the  events  of  the  first 
day. 

The  remaining  days  were  busy  ones  but  rather 
uneventful  except  for  the  visit  of  Father  Gavard 
and  the  Orange  Parade.  The  first  thing  that 
caught  Father  G.'s  eye  was  a  saucer  which  was 
originally  intended  for  the  paste,  piled  high  with 
green  apple-cores.  Immediately  upon  his  remark- 
ing the  size  of  the  pile  and  commenting  upon  the 
severity  of  the  aches  and  pains  that  would  be  the 
inevitable  result,  he  was  induced  to  try  just  one. 
He  made  a  brave  attempt  but  was  unable  to  get 
any  farther  than  the  first  bite. 

On  Sunday  morning  the  children  received 
Holy  Communion  in  a  body  and  attended  Bene- 
diction in  the  evening,  after  which  they  presented 
a  closing  programme  of  songs,  stories,  and  play- 
let. After  the  inspection  of  the  project  books 
prizes  were  awarded  by  the  pastor,  Rev.  Father 
Coleman,  and  another  successful  religious  vacation 
school  came  to  an  end.  S.O.S. 


HE  THAT  FALLS  IN  T/OVE  WITH  HIMSELF  WILL  HAVE  NO  RIVAL. 


16 


THE  FIELD  AT  HOME 


OCTOBER,  1940 


St.  Anthony's  Club,  Winnipeg 

THE  PICNIC. 

THE  annual  picnic  of  St.  Anthony's  Club  was 
held  this  year  at  Selkirk,  Man.,  about  twenty 
miles  from  Winnipeg.  After  planning  and 
talking  about  it  for  some  time,  arrangements  were 
made  for  the  girls  to  get  off  extra  early  and  have 
a  good  start.  Thursday  morning  brought  us  rain 
but  by  9  o'clock  all  looked  clear  and  bright,  so 
we  started  making  sandwiches,  only  to  be  in- 
terrupted every  ten  minutes  by  phone  calls.  The 
answer  was  always  the  same,  "Yes,  we're  going 
to  the  picnic.  Pray  that  the  rain  will  keep  off." 
A  bus  load  of  fifty  left  the  hostel  at  noon,  re- 
gardless of  the  rain,  which  kept  up  for  some  time. 
Upon  arrival,  we  all  headed  for  the  pavilion, 
where  portable  tables  were  put  up  for  us.  "We 
were  told  to  make  ourselves  right  at  home  and 
that  the  pavilion  was  ours  for  the  day.  "What  a 
blessing,  as  the  rain  came  down  harder  than  ever. 
Everybody  helped  serve  the  lunch,  as  all  seemed 
hungrier  than  usual.  "We  brought  everything 
along  with  us  that  helped  to  make  a  perfect 
picnic,  and  in  the  afternoon  games,  skipping,  high 
jumping  and  races  occupied  our  time.  Every  once 
in  a  while  the  sun  came  out  to  tantalize  us,  though 
after  supper  it  cleared  up  beautifully  and  we 
were  actually  able  to  take  pictures.  The  ball 
game  we  had  planned  with  the  Selkirk  girls  had 
to  be  postponed,  as  the  grounds  were  too  wet. 


S.  A.  B.  ACTIVITIES. 

After  three  years  of  hoping  and  wondering 
how  it  could  be  arranged,  Winnipeg  has  now  a 
Catholic  Girls'  Softball  League  just  formed  this 
year,  and  needless  to  say,  St.  Anthony's  Brown- 
birds  are  in  it.  Six  teams  entered  in  the  begin- 
ning, two  finally  backed  out  but  we've  kept  it 
up  with  teams  from  St.  Joseph's  Parish,  Holy 
Rosary,  St.  Alphonsus'  and  the  Catholic  Hostel. 
The  Catholic  Club  of  Winnipeg  are  sponsoring  it 
and  much  interest  has  been  shown.  At  the  present 
time  the  Brownbirds  are  in  second  position  and 
stand  a  good  chance  of  winning  the  finals,  which 
are  just  around  the  corner,  though  we  took  a 
beating  the  other  evening  from  the  top  team,  St. 
Joseph's,  10-8. 

Thanks  to  the  ball  team,  we  have  enjoyed 
many  picnics  this  summer.  On  most  of  our  out- 
ings we  take  lunch,  and  after  the  game  find  a 
quiet  spot  to  eat.  We  had  the  pleasure  of  having 
with  us  on  our  last  picnic  our  first  Chaplain.  Rev. 
Father  Fitzgerald,  who  lias  returned  from  Cres- 
ton,  B.C.,  after  having  been  appointed  chaplain 
in  military  district  No.  10,  at  Camp  Sliilo,  Man. 


Arriving  at  the  Picnic  Grounds. 

FIRST  AND  FINAL  PROFESSIONS. 

Sister  Ella  Zink.  of  Montreal,  made  her  First 
Vows  on  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption,  in  the 
S.O.S.  Novitiate  chapel.  Preceding  this  beauti- 
ful Feast,  the  novices  and  a  number  of  professed 
Sisters  were  privileged  to  make  a  helpful  and  en- 
jovable  Retreat,  under  the  experienced  direction 
of  Rev.  II.  Daly,  S.J. 

On  the  same  day  Final  Profession  was  made  by 
Sister  .Josephine  Dulaska  in  Halifax;  by  Sister 
Anna  Green  in  Winnipeg;  and  Sister  Leona 
Trautman  in  Vancouver. 

To  all  these  Sisters  we  offer  sincerest  congra- 
tulations, with  the  earnest  prayer  that  the  joy 
of  that  Day  of  Final  Consecration  may  shed  the 
golden  light  of  Divine  love  and  peace  over  all 
the  years  to  come. 


It  is  not  so  much  the  size  of  the  dog  in  the 
tight  as  the  size  of  the  tight  in  the  dog. 


Who  shoots  at  the  mid-day  sun.  though  he  be 
sure  he  shall  never  hit  the  mark,  yet  as  sure  is 
lie  that  he  shall  shoot  higher  than  he  who  aims 
at  a  bush. 


BUT  ONCE. 

I  shall  pass  through  life  but  once. 
Any  good,  therefore,  that  I  can  do  or 
any  kindness  that  I  can  show  to  any 
human  being,  let  me  do  it  now.  Let  me 
not  defer  or  neglect  it,  for  I  shall  not 
pass  this  way  again. 

(Engraved  on  the  tomb  of  Edward 
Courtney,  Earl  of  Devonshire,  in  an  old 
English  graveyard) . 


THK  <  H.AKITAHI,K  OI\  K  OUT  AT  THK  DOOR  AND  (iOD  PUTS  IN  AT  THK  WINDOW.